WATER IN THE NEWS: The deaths of 17 villagers including 13 children, from three families in Budhal village, in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir in December last, was found to be due to pesticide contamination of spring water. Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS), a rare disorder affecting nerves leading to weakness and even paralysis of limbs, body, and breathing has affected more than 150 individuals in Pune. The outbreak of GBS has been triggered by infection with campylobacter jejuni bacterium, often transmitted through contaminated food or water. During the midst of the Delhi election, former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal accused the Haryana government of poisoning the Yamuna River supplying water to Delhi, based on a water analysis report showing high ammonia levels.
UNSAFE WATER: Polluted water, poor sanitation, and hand hygiene are responsible for over one million deaths each year globally from diarrhoea. Other serious waterborne infectious diseases include cholera, amoebic and other dysentery, hepatitis, typhoid, and polio. These exacerbate malnutrition and childhood growth stunting. Despite a marked reduction in the death rate in India from 200 per 1 lakh population in 1990 to less than 35 now, it is still a
major cause of mortality especially among children.
SAFE WATER: Projects such as ‘Har ghar nal se jal’, Karnataka Ganga-kalyana, and Namami Gange are a major step towards providing safe water. Safe water can be provided by piped water, boreholes or tube wells, protected dug wells, protected springs, rainwater, and packaged or delivered water. Proper maintenance of these sources to prevent contamination and sustained quality control is essential to ensure the continued safety of water. Improved water supply and sanitation, and better management of water resources, can boost countries’ economic growth and reduce poverty.
WATER CONTAMINATION: Contamination of soil and groundwater with toxic elements like Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead, Chromium, Copper, Mercury, Nickel, and Fluorides, radioactive substances, toxic chemicals like pesticides, or infective microorganisms leads to contamination of drinking water from streams, river, lake, wells or other sources. These contaminants can then enter our food chain through milk, meat, fish, and seafood. Intermittent water supply through pipes leads to intermittent negative pressure within the pipes, sucking in contaminants at the pipe joints. Where sewage lines cross water pipelines, this leads to waterborne infections.
WATER POLLUTION: Water pollution occurs when untreated mining, paper pulp, tannery, dye, chemical, pesticide, and other industrial waste, detergents, raw sewage, plastics, and solid waste are dumped into water bodies. Water pollution including microplastics, oil spills, and radioactive waste impacts aquatic life and eventually our food sources. Ammonia is a colourless gas with a strong odour and is very soluble in water. Nitrifying bacteria, Nitrosomonas, convert ammonia from fertilisers, landfill leachates, washed-down air pollutants, organic waste, and sewage, into Nitrite, which is then converted by Nitrobacter bacteria, into Nitrate. Ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates are all indicators of water pollution.
TESTING DRINKING WATER: Drinking water is tested for many parameters, including pH, turbidity (water should be clear), and the presence of bacteria to ensure its safety. The acceptable pH is 6.5(acidic) to 8.5(alkaline). Total coliform bacteria count, Nitrates, Iron, Hardness due to calcium carbonate, sulphates, chlorides, and specific conductance are also checked. The Arvind Kejriwal-Haryana government slugfest is over the high ammonia content in drinking water due to Yamuna river water pollution near the Delhi-Haryana border. Instead of fighting about which side of this border the river is polluted, it is high time the authorities cleaned up the river to make it safe for a dip (dupki) as promised five years ago and also for swimming as in the Paris Olympics.
STAGNANT WATER: Stagnant uncovered water is a breeding medium for disease-spreading vectors (insects) like mosquitoes and ticks. These vectors carry and transmit diseases such as Malaria, dengue fever, Chikungunya, Filariasis, Yellow fever, West Nile Virus, Black fly borne onchocerciasis (River blindness), Tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme disease. Some of these vectors breed in clean, rather than dirty water, and uncovered household drinking water containers can serve as breeding grounds. Covering water storage containers prevents vector breeding and may reduce faecal water contamination. All stagnant water in and around habitation should be drained. Biological control of mosquitoes in lakes and ponds is an environmentally friendly alternative to chemical insecticides. Fishes such as Gambusia affinis (mosquito fish), Poecilia reticulata (common guppy), Fathead minnows, and Young bluegill are predators of mosquito larvae and pupae. The toxin of Bacillus thuringiensis (or Bt), a soil bacteria, kills mosquitoes and many other undesirable insects. Odonates an aquatic insect and Microsporidia a parasitic fungus; can also be used for the biocontrol of vectors.
FLOWING WATER AT SANGAM: Higher flow rates in a river lead to better dilution and dispersion of pollutants. Faster-flowing rivers carry more sediments that trap water pollutants. They also have higher dissolved oxygen levels necessary for aquatic life and natural pollutant breakdown. The shape and characteristics of the river channel can influence how pollutants are transported and distributed. At a river confluence (sangam), high flow rates generally lead to better mixing and potentially lower pollutant concentration. Turbulent whirlpools should be identified and kept out of bounds as they trap pollutants and swimmers. Water flow rate management, effective wastewater treatment before discharging into rivers, crowd management in specified safe bathing areas, and regular water quality monitoring are essential at mass bathing sites such as the Maha Kumbh Mela.
Dr. P.S.Venkatesh Rao is Consultant Endocrine, Breast & Laparoscopic Surgeon, Bengaluru.