opinion
By Mengesha Amare
Not only can poor water quality pose a health risk for people but it would also potentially be a series threat for ecology. It is scientifically assured that water quality describes the condition of the water, including chemical, physical, and biological characteristics, usually with respect to its suitability for a particular purpose such as drinking.
Water quality is measured by several factors, such as the density of dissolved oxygen, bacteria levels, the amount of salt or the amount of material suspended in the water. In some bodies of water, the concentration of microscopic algae and quantities of pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals, and other contaminants may also be measured to determine water quality.
Although scientific measurements are used to define water quality, it is not a simple thing to say “that water is good” or “that water is bad.” So, the determination is typically made relative to the purpose of the water – is it for drinking or for some other purpose?
Good water quality is essential to a healthy ecosystem. Pollutants such as metals, oils, pesticides, and fertilizers run off from land into the waters, causing excess algae growth and other harmful impacts. Maintaining water quality conditions needs to be sustained healthy plant and animal populations.
Human infectious diseases are among the most serious effects of water pollution, especially in developing countries, where sanitation may be inadequate or non-existent. Water-borne diseases occur when parasites or other disease-causing micro-organisms are transmitted via contaminated water, particularly water contaminated by pathogens originating from excreta. These include typhoid, intestinal parasites, and most of the enteric and diarrhoeal diseases caused by bacteria, parasites, and viruses.
Developed countries are not immune to the problem of infectious water-borne diseases. There might occur unusually extreme cases in this regard, but transmission of disease agents such as bacteria and cysts via contaminated but poorly treated municipal water is more common than it should be.
Developed countries have started monitoring for toxic algal blooms, closing fisheries as necessary. This has reduced the incidence of related human illness but has had the obvious economic cost of lost income for fishers and related businesses–and it does nothing the solve the problem for the marine life stuck in the middle of the brown tide.
According to sources, nutrient-pollution-driven blooms of non-toxic algae and seaweed can also cause problems by reducing water clarity, making it hard for marine animals to find food and blocking the sunlight needed by sea grasses, which serve as nurseries for many important fish species. When the algal overgrowth finally die, they sink to the bottom and begin decomposing. This process uses oxygen from the surrounding water. In some cases, the decomposition process takes enough oxygen out of the water that the level falls too low to support normal aquatic life and the region becomes a coastal dead zone. Water pollutants come from point and non-point sources. The major water pollutants are organic nutrients, inorganic nutrients, infectious agents, toxic organics, toxic inorganic, sediment and heat. Organic nutrients come from feed-lots, municipal sewage treatment plants, and industry. They promote growth of natural populations of aquatic bacteria. Bacterial decomposition of organic materials results in declines in dissolved oxygen, with dire effects on other oxygen-requiring organisms.
Two inorganic plant nutrients of major concern are nitrogen and phosphorus. They come primarily from septic tanks, barn yards, heavily fertilized crops, and sewage treatment plants, and cause excessive plant growth that clogs navigable waterways. Untreated or improperly treated sewage, animal wastes, meat-packing wastes, and some wild species are the major sources diseases. Water-borne infectious diseases present a special problem in developing nations with poorly developed sewage treatment facilities.
Toxic inorganic pollutants include a wide range of chemicals, such as metals and salts, from a wide array of sources. Water Quality is affected by numerous factors that depend on our water source among other considerations. Here are a few insights into what we need to know. Microbial contamination is a major factor that affects water quality. Microbial contaminants are the different types of bacteria, parasites and cysts.
Mineral and metal contamination also affects water quality, as it is a major contaminant that is especially harmful to everyone’s health. An additional ion exchange step will remove the lead and copper and balance the mineral content. A major concern with factors affecting water quality is chemical contamination which can cause a variety of diseases. These are usually removed through carbon filtration though it is not an absolute purification method as chlorine will require additional filtering media. Another factor affecting water quality is taste and odour of water.
It is necessary to make sure our filter also removes any bad odours and taste from the drinking water so as to make it better. Nowhere is the relationship between healthy ecosystems and healthy people more apparent than in the global water system. Clean water is the single most important building block of ecosystems around the world, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. However, contamination of the world’s waters leaves 2.5 billion people without access to sanitized water sources. Because global water conditions are declining, more people will soon have to rely on polluted water sources unless we make a concerted effort to clean water supply.
Keeping waterways clean starts at home
There are myriad ways to help our local waterways stay safe and clean, from participating in clean-up events to advocating to keeping wetlands intact and undeveloped. But there is also a lot we can do around the house that makes just as big of a difference. Here are six simple things we can do during our daily routine that will improve the health of waterways for miles and miles around. As a recently conducted study put it, one can make their water clean and safe if they are capable of applying the following major approaches:
1. Ditch the chemicals: Minimizing or even eliminating use of harsh chemicals around the house makes an enormous difference on keeping water clean. After all, whatever goes down the sink or in the gutter goes back into the water system in some way.
2. Minimize runoff: Whenever water runs down side-walks or streets, it picks up chemicals and pollutants that it carries back into the waterways. Minimize how much of this happens by sweeping driveways and side-walks rather than rinsing them with a hose, and watering our yard only as much as you need to prevent extra water running into the gutters.
3. Recycle: Recycling programmes help to keep trash from making its way from bins and dumps to streams and rivers. It’s amazing how easily things like plastic bags, wrappers, lids, and other items can escape and become hazards for birds, fish and other aquatic creatures.
4. Never litter: Cigarette butts, candy wrappers, and other seemingly small things really add up. Bits of toxic and non-biodegradable items easily make their way into streams, rivers, and even straight to the ocean, causing harm along the way.
5. Clean up after dogs: Pet droppings wash into water catchment systems during rain or even when sprinklers come on, which then causes a rise in bacteria and toxins in the waterways. Simply cleaning up after our dog during walks makes a big difference for the overall health of local streams and rivers.
6. Reuse water: Installing a gray-water catchment and reuse system means we’re making the most of every drop of water we use. A gray-water system captures water used in the home and recirculates it in clean and safe ways. For instance, water can be captured from the shower drains or the kitchen sink and be recirculated to be used for flushing the toilet or even to water the yard. It greatly reduces how much water you use, which means a lower monthly water bill as well as less chance for soaps or other chemicals to make their way back into waterways.