Atlas Copco USA’s Water for All Program Helps Navajo Special Education School Access Clean Water

ROCK HILL, S.C., May 5, 2017 /3BL Media/ -- Atlas Copco USA’s Water for All organization recently donated to human rights non-profit DigDeep to support St. Michaels Association for Special Education (SMASE) in Window Rock, A.Z., the only special needs school on the Navajo Reservation. The donation will help the school access clean water for daily uses including drinking, cooking and bathing.

SMASE currently serves 30 adults and 24 special needs students who cannot participate in traditional classroom settings. The school needs potable water to clean sensitive medical equipment, such as tracheotomy and gastrostomy tubes, but the water contains high amounts of lead and arsenic, ranges from yellow to brown in color, and leaves behind a white, grainy film. To compensate, SMASE relies completely on bottled water, an expensive solution that puts undue burden on teachers and students.

“Not having tap water makes a tough job even tougher,” said Jessie Gross, special educator at SMASE. “When I run out of bottled water in my classroom, I’m frantically running from building to building trying to get enough water to give a student her medicine. It’s very stressful.”

SMASE is partnering with DigDeep, a human rights non-profit working to ensure that every American has clean, running water, to build a water treatment system that will supply safe water to sinks, toilets and showers in the school.

“Through our Water for All program, we often work in communities around the globe to provide access to sanitary water, but sometimes the need is just as great in our own backyard,” said Jim Levitt, President of Atlas Copco North America. “We’re especially passionate about this project and supporting a great cause at home.”

To learn more about the project and help SMASE reach their goal, please visit https://www.waterforsaintmichaels.org/.

Atlas Copco is a world-leading provider of sustainable productivity solutions. The Group serves customers with innovative compressors, vacuum solutions and air treatment systems, construction and mining equipment, power tools and assembly systems. Atlas Copco develops products and services focused on productivity, energy efficiency, safety and ergonomics.  The company was founded in 1873, is based in Stockholm, Sweden, and has a global reach spanning more than 180 countries. In 2016, Atlas Copco had revenues of BSEK 101 (BEUR 11) and about 45,000 employees.

Atlas Copco Compressors LLC is part of the Compressor Technique Business Area, and its headquarters are located in Rock Hill, S.C. The company manufactures, markets, and services oil-free and oil-injected stationary air compressors, air treatment equipment, and air management systems, including local manufacturing of select products. The Atlas Copco Group, which celebrated its 140th anniversary in 2013, is among the Top 100 sustainable companies in the world and a member of the Dow Jones World Sustainability Index. Atlas Copco has also been recognized by Forbes, Thomson-Reuters and Newsweek, among others, for its commitment to innovation and sustainability. Atlas Copco Compressors has major sales, manufacturing, production, and distribution facilities located in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. www.atlascopco.us

About DIGDEEP
Founded in 2011 by George McGraw, UN-trained human rights defender, DIGDEEP’s goal is to make clean water more accessible and more sustainable in every community, regardless of their level of development.

DIGDEEP’s focus on both water access and conservation is unique, and DIGDEEP is the only global water non-profit building water projects with marginalized communities here in the U.S. -- where more than 1.7 million people still don't have it. DIGDEEP is committed to changing the way people think about water, and 100% of all donations support projects in the field. To learn more visit www.digdeep.org

For further information please contact:
Erik Arfalk
Atlas Copco Compressors, LLC
Telephone: 803-817-7479
Email: Erik.Arfalk@us.atlascopco.com