Editor 's Note : CNNU is following two student teams from the University of Southern California as they work to improve the quality of life in India . The student teams will be writing about their experiences for CNNU throughout the summer . Check back regularly for updates on their work . CNNU first introduced the Oral Cancer Awareness Team . It now introduces the Water and Health Team . The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of CNN or its affiliates . Students visited slums to obtain data on the history of health and access to water in each household . ( CNN ) -- The World Health Organization reports that 88 percent of the 1.8 million deaths resulting from diarrhea can be attributed to unsafe water or inadequate hygiene or sanitation . Unfortunately , a significant population in the city of Hubli , India , fall victim to these causes , and they are not even aware of the cause . The University of Southern California Hubli Water and Health Team is spending this summer implementing a project model that will improve these statistics in the community . The team of six students , visiting from the University of Southern California , will guide a pilot project in the under-served community of S.M . Krishna Nagar . Over the course of the next year , the Team will employ local college students to maintain the program and monitor the efficiency of the water purification technology . And by subsidizing the cost for those living within S.M Krishna Nagar , the Team will be providing state-of-the-art purification systems at affordable prices , creating an important sense of ownership and empowerment for the people . The team also plans to build awareness within the local community about the need to drink purified water . While the source of water currently received by the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation is filtered , sewage leakage and the poor management of waste often contaminates drinking water on its way into the homes . This means that while the water from these pipes or the bore wells may look clean , it can be hazardous to drink . To compound the issue , even water contained in holding tanks on vehicles that visit the community is by no means guaranteed to be of sufficient , purified quality . The tanks carrying the water are rarely cleaned and the taps through which the water is dispersed may easily be contaminated . Families must be aware that the water they are provided is harmful to their health and provides a catalyst for breeding mosquitoes carrying malaria and other transferable diseases . Local reports have proven this , and communities in the past have fallen victim to water-related illnesses as a result of their consumption of unclean water . The USC Hubli Water and Health Team team hopes to shed light on this threatening issue , as confronting the challenge of dirty drinking water is a `` gateway '' step towards achieving measured , sustainable improvements in a wide array of serious health related issues . Through education at key points of community influence and the measured introduction of new technologies that encourage responsibility over simply charity , the Team will use its time in Hubli to affect change that is both scalable and sustainable .
Students from University of Southern California go to India to improve quality of water . Team provides innovative water treatment solutions to stop disease . Other team teaches how to prevent oral cancer , one of top 3 cancers in India . Team train staff to maintain productivity and staff efficiency over next year .