Water safety and quality - Research Paper Example

Tourism 28 November, Water Safety and Quality Access to safe and quality water as a basic human right has proven to be challenging worldwide, let alone in the developing countries, but also in the developed nations. Safe and quality water is important for the health of people in any society to prevent risks of diseases and ensure proper sanitation and hygiene. Water safety and quality is a health concern and serves to enable people access pure, clean, and uncontaminated water for their healthy drinking. However, to facilitate effective quality drinking water, it requires intense coordination from public water treatment systems, in-plant water consumption together its distribution process and the general attention to external weather related issues in the environment (Doyle 5). Water is freely provided by nature, but it does not mean that all water available is safe for consumption. Even the fresh water sources from the ground, which most people in the rural areas rely on, could be unsatisfactory for health standards. What hinders water safety and quality: Pollution is the major case that governments and organizations have to take precaution on. Water pollution is caused by the daily activities in a wider range; from domestic functions, industries and plants use and discharge to the general public care of its environment. According to the United Nations (1), the growth in population and changing climatic conditions continue to be affected by the decline in water quality. Nations’ economies and the global life of the living organisms are at stake in the absence of quality safe water. Pollution from human settlement: Areas where the population density is high will always have a problem in sanitation and disposal of waste products if not well controlled. Despite the effort made so far, there still exist towns and municipalities without proper ways of disposing the societies’ household waste (“Human Impacts,” keystone.edu). People living in slums have limited resources that have to be shared equally by all. Faecal contamination (both in humans and animals) is one challenge affecting safety of drinking water and it leads to a spread of health illnesses to millions of people in the world (UNICEF unicef.org). Lack of enough toilets and proper identified locations, to deposit their domestic waste limits the societies’, and water environment health standards. The sewage and waste come into contact with the water supply systems hence affecting the water quality. Pollution from industries: Industries use the water in their cleaning, processing, and cooling systems. In the end, the waste water effluent consists of different kinds of chemicals, both organic and inorganic, which if released untreated, increases the level of arsenic compounds in the water bodies over time. Referring to the United Nations, industries are associated with the increase of solvents, toxic substances, heavy metals, and chemicals dumped into the water bodies among other wastes (2). People end up using the water not knowing the content of dangerous compounds that exist. The water that comes into contact with such effluent automatically becomes unsafe for use. People are used to bathing in the beach and rivers thinking that the water is safe even for their swimming. Although people have an irresponsible behavior of urinating in the water, there are other invisible hazards identified in large water bodies where they go swimming. According to a sanitary and safety investigation, water bodies and especially in the beach, may portray presence of toxic contaminants, medical infectious waste, sewage, wastewater discharge, petroleum products, and floatable debris if measured (nyc.gov). Pollution from agricultural activities: Nowadays, farming makes use of chemicals in almost all stages of crops growth and livestock production. In USA, fertilizer and manure run off is the main issue in water pollution (UN 2). Animals are feed on manufactured products that are made using chemicals, cleaned in chemicals contaminated water that runs down on the farm grounds and their chemical intense waste product used as manure on the farms. Together with this, crops depend on the chemically made fertilizers and sprays to speed up their growth in the modern changing climate. The heavy downpour and floods later carry the chemical substances in the water bodies that the society uses. Pollution based on delivery systems: Water may be treated and safe for consumption, but the threat of damages on the delivery channels would contribute to water contamination. Though the US and Canada are developed nations, enjoying some of the purest and safest water in the world, they face a challenge in their water supply through delivery systems (corroded pipelines that deliver drinking water) (“Safe water delivered safely,” waterandhealth.org). Delivery equipments also counts in determining the safety of water, some pipelines are metallic and once they begin rusting, the metals chemicals dissolve in the water. Their chemical nature may react with the water to form other compounds that affect human bodies’ formation and metabolism. Iron and lead are common contaminators through metallic pipes. Plastic pipes can also burst due to cold temperatures while growth of microbial organisms inside the walls of delivery pipelines reduces the strength of water disinfectants used to treat it for safety purposes. Water quality and safety management: Quality of water bodies on surface depend on natural factors and the activities that human beings are involved in. The responsibility lies with every individual beside the regulatory bodies to ensure that water is safe. There are water standards that can be used gauge the quality of water before release and use. The main way to determine water quality is by comparing both physicals and chemical properties of water been tested with the specified water standards. (“Water Quality,” un.org). Water monitoring can also be conducted by the governments, health and sanitation organizations and international authorized agencies, to provide information on the safety and purity of water before use. Biological measurements on the increase in the aquatic organisms’ life and how best the organisms can survive is also another way to monitor water conditions for different purposes such as recognizing the trends in water quality over time and describing the water at a given state (“An introduction to water quality,” water.epa.gov). Through this the concentration of chemical and organic substances can be detected and compared with the former results. According to Harden et al., 334 water streams in the 8 Southeastern United States were investigated to identify changes between 1973 to 2005, in their concentration of solvents, PH, dissolved oxygen and specific conductance (usgs.gov). Safe and quality water: For both human and animal consumption, the only safe and quality water is that which has been treated, meet the standards of safe water and free of harmful substances that could affect our health. This is possible if measures are placed to control sewage and industrial effluents which are common water pollutants. Treated water delivery lines regular check up and ensuring proper disposal of waste in the right location would also count in water safety. Other common safe drinking water available, such as the bottled water should be regulated to ensure they meet standards of quality before they are released in the public. People are used to boiling water for purity; there exist simpler means such as reverse osmosis filters which makes use of carbon filters to capture various contaminants rather than buying bottled water which may just be a mere business with a label of safety assurance (MacEachern shine.yahoo.com). Well some issues attributed to water contamination arise from human carelessness or rather lack of knowledge. Some can be corrected at an instant by the responsible individuals while other may require government or sponsorship assistance. Farmers or those using chemicals should be advised not to use them or mix them near water sources and to avoid pouring harmful chemicals after use, down the drain; governments also need to be very careful while melting ice from the roads during winter periods, since the chances of running into surface water bodies are high (Wickell about.com). Effects of unsafe water: There are many diseases resulting from poor sanitation and hygiene as well as waterborne diseases. Children are the most affected and many are loosing their lives as a result of water related diseases. The pathogens, bacterial, parasites and other micro-organisms affect both human and animals health conditions. In developing countries, cholera, hepatitis A and B, typhoid and fever are common due to inadequate water purification systems (Doyle 1). Animals can have their performance affected when the minerals in the water exceed the safe and quality standards (Blezinger cattletoday.com).Some people have access to safe water, but whatever is available is little for their consumption, which make them to utilize unsafe water due to lack of option. Hence when considering water quality, it would also be important to recognize the existing population and assess whether the quantity would be enough; otherwise, efforts of offering quality water for health purposes would amount to nothing ( University of Arkansas uaex.edu). Conclusion: Water safety and quality determine the health of the people worldwide. It is every individual’s right in life but more so their responsibility. Together, as societies, non-government organizations, industries and the government have to use the combined efforts to fight water pollution for the sake of the future life and the entire ecosystem. Works Cited “An Introduction to Water Quality Monitoring,” water.epa.gov. 2 October 2012. Web. 29 November 2012.< http://water.epa.gov/type/watersheds/monitoring/monintr.cfm> “Beach Classification.”nyc.gov. 2012. Web. 29 November 2012. Blezinger, Stephen B. “Water Quality is Important to Animal Health.” cattletoday.com. 2008. Web. 29 November 2012. Doyle, M Ellin. “Water Safety and Quality: Issues Affecting Food Safety and Public Health.” fri.wisc.edu. November 2010.Web. 29 November 2012. Harned et al. “Trends in Water Quality in the Southeastern United States, 1973–2005.”usgs.gov. 11 February, 2010. Web. 29 November 2012. “Human Impacts on Water Quality.” keystone.edu. n.d. Web. 29 November, 2012. MacEachern, Dianne. “How to Keep Drinking Water Safe for You and Your Family (Bottled Water is Not the Answer).” shine.yahoo.com. 22 December 2010. Web. 29 November 2012. “Safe Water Delivered Safely.” waterandhealth.org. 2012. Web. 29 November 2012. University of Arkansas. “Water Quality as Important as Quantity, Even During Drought.” uaex.edu. July 2012. Web. 29 November 2012. UNICEF. “Water Sanitation and Hygiene.” unicef.org. 26 May 2012. Web. 29 November 2012. UN. “Water Quality.” unwater.org. n.d. Web. 29 November 2012. “Water Quality,” un.org. n.d. Web. 29 November 2012. Wickell, Janet. “Keep Your Drinking Water Safe.” about.com. n.d. Web. 29 November 2012. Read More