NAPERVILLE, Ill., Mar. 22- Clean water is a necessity both for human survival and for economic growth. Nalco (NYSE: NLC), providing essential expertise for water, energy and air, recognizes that simple fact in both its daily efforts to help industry reduce water use and through collaborations with various globally-recognized non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

"Freshwater conservation and overall water quality improvement are important steps to solving growing water scarcity needs worldwide, but especially so in countries like India and China, facing stress from the combination of rapid economic and population growth," said Nalco Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Erik Fyrwald.

In recognition of the United Nations' annual World Water Day, the Nalco Foundation has approved two, multi-year grants funding important water programs in both countries.

A three-year, $450,000 grant to World Wildlife Fund (WWF)-US will fund a water stewardship program to identify solutions to protect Taihu Lake, the third largest freshwater lake in China and a primary water source for more than 33 million people living in and around Shanghai. Taihu Lake is part of the Yangtze River basin, the source of water for 400 million people.

The three objectives of the project are to:

• reduce rural non-point water pollution of the lake through a pilot project involving a small, shoreline village,
• lessen industrial impacts through reduced water use and wastewater recycling and treatment, and
• test the applicability of global water stewardship standards being developed by the Alliance for Water Stewardship to set voluntary criteria for good water management.

Nalco Company will provide its expertise in pollution prevention, water quality monitoring and industrial water management and help promote actions to improve water quality in Taihu Lake.

The Foundation is also providing a three-year grant for $500,000 to Water For People, a non-profit international development organization founded in 1991. The money will help fund water, sanitation and hygiene programs in West Bengal and Bihar India. The effort includes:

• facilitating the development of sustainable community water systems,
• developing additional sanitation options for both homes and schools, and
• providing local hygiene education programs through schools, targeting both students and their parents.

Since 2004, the Nalco Foundation has made more than $1 million in total grants to Water For People.

Nalco will continue to help its thousands of customers globally operate more efficiently and decrease their environmental impacts.

"Perhaps the greatest satisfaction our 12,500 Nalco people around the world feel every day is the difference we are making for the planet by helping our customers reduce their water use," Fyrwald added. "The estimated global water savings from Nalco 3D TRASAR® Automation and PARETO Mixing technologies alone exceed one trillion liters since they were introduced. We will remain a pioneer in the development of unique industrial water treatment and process solutions that conserve and clean water."

Nalco is also a participant in the United Nations' CEO Water Mandate, supporting and advancing water sustainability solutions with its customers and suppliers and within its own operations.

For more information about World Water Day, visit www.unwater.org/worldwaterday. Details about Water For People's locally sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene programs in developing countries can be found at www.waterforpeople.org. To learn more about WWF, including its water stewardship efforts, go to www.worldwildlife.org.

About Nalco
Nalco is the world's largest sustainability services company focused on industrial water, energy and air applications; delivering significant environmental, social and economic performance benefits to our customers. We help our customers reduce energy, water and other natural resource consumption, enhance air quality, minimize environmental releases and improve productivity and end products while boosting the bottom line. Together our comprehensive solutions contribute to the sustainable development of customer operations. Nalco is a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America Indexes. More than 12,000 Nalco employees operate in 150 countries supported by a comprehensive network of manufacturing facilities, sales offices and research centers to serve a broad range of end markets. In 2010, Nalco achieved sales of $4.25 billion. For more information visit www.nalco.com.

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