Safe Drinking and Supply
- Safe drinking water is the birthright of all humankind – as much a birthright as clean air.
- The majority of the world’s population, however, does not have access to safe drinking water. This is certainly true in most parts of Africa and Asia. Even in relatively advanced countries such as India, safe drinking water is not readily available, particularly in rural areas.
- One reason safe drinking water is of paramount concern is that 75 percent of all diseases in developing countries arise from polluted drinking water.
- Knowledge about how to make water safe for consumption is rare in most developing countries.
- We simply must do a better job of raising public awareness and understanding about the nature of the problem and the technologies and strategies that are available to address it.
Background
- Safe drinking water is a human birthright – as much a birthright as clean air. However, much of the world’s population does not have access to safe drinking water. Of the 6 billion people on earth, more than one billion (one in six) lack access to safe drinking water.
- Moreover, about 2.5 billion (more than one in three) do not have access to adequate sanitation services. Together, these shortcomings spawn waterborne diseases that kill on average more than 6 million children each year (about 20,000 children a day). Water covers 70 percent of the globe’s surface, but most is saltwater.
- Freshwater covers only 3 percent of the earth’s surface and much of it lies frozen in the Antarctic and Greenland polar ice.
- Freshwater that is available for human consumption comes from rivers, lakes and underground sources and aquifers. Together these sources account for just 1 percent of all water on earth. Six billion people depend on this supply and a significant portion of the world’s population now face water shortages.
Ways to save and replenish
- We must meet the world’s growing demand for freshwater.
- However, we must do so with limited financial resources and with practices that minimize ecological disruption.
- An analysis of the situation suggests that our goals can be reached. Experts have proposed a four-fold path towards a viable solution for making water both potable and safe:
- Seek new sources
- Save and redistribute supplies
- Reduce demand
- Recycle
- Some of these approaches are global in nature, while others are regional, national, local and even family-specific.
- These efforts will ultimately succeed only when we empower people with the knowledge and means to address the issue on their own.
Individuals and communities Role in Safe Water
Efforts need not be left solely to governmental and nongovernmental agencies. Individuals, families and communities also have a vital role to play. Such responsibilities include:
- Water harvesting at home, schools and community buildings
- Water recycling at the microlevel, including at homes, buildings and communities
- Saving water by ensuring taps and pipes are not leaky and by using optimum amounts of water for washing and toilet flushing
- Making sure that the water is purified by methods suited to family conditions and needs
- Maintaining proper levels of sanitation at home
Private industry and nongovernmental organizations role in Safe Drinking Water SUpply
Many countries – for example, India, Indonesia, Kenya, and Nepal – have active nongovernmental organizations that involve communities in the funding and implementation of programmes designed to transform arid and semiarid terrains into productive agricultural regions receiving sufficient amounts of water. Such efforts should be expanded by:
- Exchanging information among and between industry and nongovernmental organizations on relevant and novel methods and strategies
- Focusing on sociological factors that may have an impact on the most suitable technologies and programmes for a given region/ community
- Ensuring equity in both services and benefits
- Involving communities in all aspects of water harvesting, recycling, storage, purification and supply
- Coordinating efforts among governmental and intergovernmental sectors for the purposes of achieving harmonious processes and results.