Sanitation Innovator Named 2013 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate

Over the past four decades, Dr. Morgan has invented and advanced low-cost practical solutions to provide access to safe sanitation and clean water for millions of people worldwide. By combining a scientific mind with practical skills and a knack for elegant simplicity, Dr. Morgans designs and ideas provides hope for the more than 780 million people without access to safe water and 2.5 billion people who lack access to adequate sanitation.

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Over the past four decades, Dr. Peter Morgan has invented and advanced low-cost practical solutions to provide access to safe sanitation and clean water that are being used by millions of people worldwide.

Annie Kanyemba, who trained the pupils to build toilets roles a concrete slab on to site.: Photograph by PRM

“Many currently existing solutions to provide clean water and sanitation are unaffordable, impractical and out of reach for the world’s poorest people,” said the Stockholm Water Prize Committee in its citation. “As a result of Dr. Morgan’s pioneering work to develop practical water and sanitation technologies for those most in need, countless communities now enjoy safer water, a cleaner environment and quality of life.”

More than 780 million people live without access to safe water and 2.5 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation. Diseases caused by unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene kill more than 5,000 people each day.

Emptying the pit of a Fossa alterna in Epworth after a year of composting.: Photograph by PRM

Upon receiving the news, Dr. Morgan said: “Great strides have been made to bring safe water and sanitation to people around the world, yet countless millions are currently still denied access. This prestigious award encourages me to carry on to play my part to improve the conservation and supply of this most precious resource – water – and provide more people with access to clean sanitation.”

H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden will present the prize to Dr. Peter Morgan at a Royal Award Ceremony during the 2013 World Water Week in Stockholm on September 5.

A world class inventor and problem solver

The “B” type Zimbabwe Bush Pump at a secondary school.: Photograph by PRM

Dr. Morgan has invented a wide range of simple, smart and low-cost water and sanitation technologies. Several of his most prominent innovations, including the “B” type Bush Pump and the Blair Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) Latrine, have been adapted as the national standard by the government of Zimbabwe.

Residents admire their Bush Pump, in this case one fitted with extractable piston, making maintenance easier.: Photograph by PRM

Huge numbers of Blair VIP latrines designed for both families and schools have been built and serve millions of people in Zimbabwe alone, and many more have been built worldwide.

Upgraded Family well, fitted with windlass. Improves well safety and water quality without complex hand pump.: Photograph by PRM

Dr. Morgan also created the ‘Upgraded Family Well’, a concept where families can support themselves (“self supply”) which now helps half a million people improve the quality of water obtained from traditional wells.

Dr. Morgan has an unwavering commitment to creating solutions that local communities can build and sustain themselves. For each of his technologies he also developed a wide range of training and educational materials that enable local practitioners to install, maintain and improve them.

Students built a simple Blair VIP at the school.: Photograph by PRM

The Blair VIP latrine, for example, has been restyled so that it can be upgraded in a series of steps as the need or opportunity arises. In Zimbabwe today, variants of the Blair VIP, the “B” type ‘Bush Pump’ and the promotion of upgraded wells form the backbone of the rural water and sanitation program.

Gum trees watered with diluted urine to enhance their growth in school woodlot.: Photograph by PRM

Dr. Morgan is also renowned as one of the leading creators and proponents of ecological sanitation solutions, which enable the safe reuse of human waste to enhance soil quality and crop production. His ‘eco-san’ toilets are now in use in countries across the globe, centered on converting a sanitary problem into a productive resource. Much work has been performed in the school environment.

A multi-compartment Blair VIP used in rural and many peri-urban schools throughout Zimbabwe: Photograph by PRM

About Dr. Peter Morgan

Dr. Morgan currently serves as Director of Aquamor, a not-for-profit company working in the rural water supply and sanitation sector in Zimbabwe.

Trees as Recyclers of NutrientsThe Aquamor Web site provide information on Sanitation Technology, Hygiene and Hand-washing, including menstrual hygiene, Water Supplies, and Recycling –covering trees as recyclers of nutrients present in human excreta, available as a PDF.

He has previously served as Chief Research Officer and acting Director of the Blair Research Laboratory and as Advisor to the Ministry of Health in Zimbabwe. Throughout his career, Dr. Morgan has shared his designs and innovations freely and ensured that they can be implemented and improved by the local communities where they are used.

A prolific and highly respected scientist, Dr. Morgan is the author of over 100 published articles and previously served as President of the Zimbabwe Scientific Association, and editor of Zimbabwe Science News. He frequently acts as an advisor and consultant on rural water supply and sanitation programmes in countries throughout Africa, such as Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, and Zambia. Dr. Morgan has been the recipient of multiple awards and distinctions, including the International Inventors Award, The AMCOW AfricaSan Award for Technical Innovation in Sanitation, and the Rural Water Supply Network Award for Lifetime Services to Rural Water Supply.

Born in 1943 in Wellingborough, United Kingdom, Dr. Morgan is a naturalized citizen of Zimbabwe. He holds a PhD in Marine Biology from the University of Hull and was awarded Member of the most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1991.

Stockholm Water PrizeAbout the Stockholm Water Prize

The Stockholm Water Prize is a global award founded in 1991 and presented annually by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) to an individual, organisation or institution for outstanding water-related achievements. The Stockholm Water Prize Laureate receives USD 150,000 and a crystal sculpture specially designed and created by Orrefors. H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is patron of the prize.

Initially founded by the Stockholm Water Foundation to encourage research and development of the world’s water environment, the Stockholm Water Prize is additionally supported by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, International Water Association, Water Environment Federation and the City of Stockholm. The Founders of the Stockholm Water Prize are companies united in their strong conviction to push sustainability in the water sector. They are: Bacardi, Borealis & Borouge, DuPont, ERV, Fujitsu, Grundfos, HP, Kemira, KPMG Sweden, Ragn-Sells, Scandic, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), Siemens AG, SJ (Swedish Railways), Snecma/Safran, Uponor, Xylem and Ålandsbanken.

This news is from SIWI the Stockholm International Water Institute, 23 May 2013.

Book CoverBook Cover This article is presented as part of the Supplementary Material that accompanies the book Water and Sanitation Related Diseases and the Environment: Challenges, Interventions, and Preventive Measures, a Wiley-Blackwell publication in collaboration with Horizon International, written by 59 experts. Janine M. H. Selendy, Horizon International Founder, Chairman, President and Publisher, is Editor.

The book’s 4 hours of multimedia DVDs are included with an abundance of multidisciplinary resources, covering diverse topics from anthropology to economics to global health are being distributed free of charge by the Global Development And Environment Institute (GDAE) at Tufts University.

These will be sent to thousands of libraries, organizations, and institutions in 138 less-wealthy countries and will be invaluable additions to library materials for use in classrooms and communities, by researchers and government decision-makers.

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