Safe drinking water saves life

As the World celebrates World Water Day on Wednesday March 22, there is need to address the dangers of consuming unsafe water and the health benefits attached to drinking safe water.

There are over 663 million people living without safe water supply, they spend countless hours daily queuing or trekking to distant sources of safe water supply. They also cope with and face the health impacts of using contaminated water when they cannot access safe water.

Water is a fundamental human need. Typically, an individual requires at least 20 to 50 litres of clean, safe water a day for drinking, cooking, and simply keeping themselves clean. Data from the United Nations corroborates this.

Polluted water is deadly for consumption. About 1.8 million people die every year of cholera. Tens of millions of others are seriously infected by a host of water-related ailments—many of which are easily preventable.

The United Nations considers universal access to clean water a basic human right, and an essential step towards improving living standards worldwide. Water-poor communities are typically economically poor as well, their residents trapped in an ongoing cycle of poverty.

Education suffers when sick children miss school. Economic opportunities are lost to the impacts of rampant illness and the time-consuming processes of acquiring water where it is not readily available. Children and women bear the brunt of these burdens.

Water is obviously essential for hydration and for food production, but sanitation is an equally important, and complementary, use of water. A lack of proper sanitation services not only breed disease; it can also deny people of their basic human dignity.

The state of drinking water supplies can be quantified by four important characteristics: quality, quantity, reliability, and cost.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and various national agencies have drinking water quality standards that specify the acceptable microbial, chemical, and radiological characteristics of safe drinking water.

Excessive amounts of microbes or chemicals derived from human and animal wastes, agricultural runoff, industrial chemicals, and even natural pollutants, make some water unsafe to drink and cause water-related diseases. If water sources are not protected, or are unexpectedly contaminated for any reason, the quality of drinking water suffers.

Contamination can occur at the source of the water both at the surface and in the ground. Once the water is in the distribution system, there are additional opportunities for drinking water to be contaminated. If pipes are not successfully protected from contaminants, the quality of drinking water suffers. Improper storage can also result in unsafe drinking water.

Water sources may be variable and unreliable. Water reliability may vary by season, by year, and by location. In some areas, the rains fall mainly during the monsoon seasons, leaving dry conditions at other times of the year. Large scale climate variability such as the influence of El Niño and La Niña may mean that one year is wet while the next is dry.

The quantity of water in rivers and lakes can also be unreliable. Some rivers only flow during part of the year, leaving a dry riverbed and no local source of water. Rivers and lakes can also dry up from overuse.

At the household level, the reliability of the distribution system that provides water to the people is critical to maintaining quantity. If pipes are broken or only intermittent service is available, the quantity of drinking water suffers.

Often, the unreliability of surface water can be offset by the use of groundwater. However, if ground water sources are depleted too rapidly, or are not being successfully recharged by either natural or man-made processes, the quantity of drinking water suffers.

According to the WHO, distribution systems should make drinking water available so that people do not need to travel more than one kilometre from the place where they will use the water. For all people, there is a cost involved in having water distributed to their home or community. Some costs are monetary; while others are measured in the time it takes to travel to and from a safe drinking water source.

Spring Waters Nigeria Limited (SWAN) is the pioneer brand of premium bottled water in Nigeria incorporated in 1981 and commenced commercial production of Natural Spring Water in December 1983. Swan water pioneered the bottled water business in the country. The company has been engaged in the bottling and distribution of SWAN Natural Spring Water for over 26 years. Of recent, the company added an exciting range of SWAN fruit Drinks; Apple, Pineapple and Orange Variants to its portfolio.

Swan natural spring water is sourced from a unique origin in the volcanic highlands of the Kerang hills of the Jos Plateau in Nigeria.

Swan water is 100% natural and pure without any additives or chemical treatment. It is the preferred choice of premium water nation-wide. The available pack sizes are 150cl, 75cl & 55cl. Shelf life is 12 months.

Bottled Water is basically classified as treated water and natural spring water. Spring water is nature’s gift to mankind.

 

Anthony Nlebem