On July 2010 on the eve of Day of City Feodosiya’ city NGO “MAMA-86-Feodosiya” held a presentation of the installation of water purification system in the city’ maternity hospital and a Round Table “Clean drinking water for children's health”. These events were supported by “Women for Water Partnership” (WfWP) and NGO “MAMA-86” under the projects “Women Actions for the Implementation of the Protocol on Water and Health” and “Safe Water for Children”.

Installment of water purification system guaranteed clean drinking water to all patients and staff of the hospital. According to Chief Doctor of the hospital Mr. Shepel G.V. the birth rate is steadily growing in the region of Big Feodosiya: in 2002 — 970 infants were born, in 2009 — 1209.

The “MAMA-86-Feodosiya” choice of the hospital as a place of demonstration project was not made by chance. The organization has long been engaged in research of water supply problems in the region of Big Feodosiya. Among the most acute problems there is a problem of drinking water quality that is associated with organic pollution at the source in Dnipro River and secondary water contamination during water treatment, namely hyperchlorination. To solve the problem in the short term it was suggested to provide post-treatment of drinking water “on tap”, as a target group pregnant women and children as the most sensitive that suffer from a significant risk of illnesses associated with consumption of unsafe drinking water were selected.

Previous experience of “MAMA-86-Feodosiya” pilot project on installment in 2007 of post treatment system in the boarding school № 1 for children with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract has been taking into account when choosing the best technical solution.

The main requirements to the selection of the system were:

• ensuring high-quality of tap water treated from chlorinated contaminants;
• performance of the system must provide the necessary volume of consumption;
• efficiency and rational use of water resources, the ability to reuse waste water (a byproduct of treatment) for technical purposes;
• technical and financial systems are stable in its operation.

The first results of system’s work were highly appreciated by the round table participants. Chief Doctor of the hospital has admitted that at first he did not believe in the possibility of solving the problem, especially at the beginning of working out the idea in 2007.

Thanks to the perseverance and focus on the result of “MAMA-86-Feodosiya”, especially its leader — Kovalchuk A.N., the idea found its way to implementation. Non-governmental organization succeeded in creating a working group of like-minded people who not only provided qualitative water to the hospital, but also implemented a solution for the rational use of wastewater for the technical needs of the institution. The roundtable participants noted the uniqueness and importance of the obtained technical solutions, as well as the need for local treatment facilities in institutions of Big Feodosiya, primarily in health care, in preschool and school education.

In the frame of round table discussions problems of sanitation and their relation to problems on safe drinking water and health were raised. It turned out that not all schools in Big Feodosiya region have canalization, as school №14 has a cesspit and pupils use an outdoor toilet with a cesspit. The same situation is in other rural schools of Big Feodosiya.