Pollution of Drinking Water

Water pollution as well as drinking water pollution poses challenges around the globe. As recently as 2019, 1 in 3 persons worldwide was unable to secure safe drinking water (WHO 2019).

Broadly speaking, one may suggest that water treatment standards and practices are more stringent and commonplace in the Global North compared to developing nations. However, one key challenge in safe drinking water in high-income countries is the legacy of toxic chemicals and pesticides in the environment, which substances have persisted since the advent of chemical manufacturing in the 19th and 20th centuries (Suk et al 2016). Further, water treatment systems themselves may contribute to contamination and pollution. Where the treatment of drinking water is sub-optimal, contamination may also occur from the chemical residues used in such treatment (Fawell and Nieuwenhuijsen 2003).

The issue of drinking water pollution in the Global South is perhaps one of greater urgency and scale. Contaminated drinking water is one of the most serious environmental risks in low- and middle-income countries (Suk et al 2016). Indeed, of the 2 billion people who were without basic sanitation in 2019, 70% resided in rural areas and about 33% were from Least Developed Countries (WHO 2019).

The consumption of unsanitary drinking water is associated with a wide range of disease and death. Much of the developing world is vulnerable to waterborne diseases (including typhoid and cholera) resulting from the pollution of drinking water by pathogen-bearing faecal matter, while chemical contaminants of drinking water (such as waterborne arsenic and fluoride) have been associated with morbidity and mortality in regions such as the Indian sub-continent, South America, Africa, and the Far East (Fawell and Nieuwenhuijsen 2003). The situation may also be exacerbated by persistent practices of open defecation and lack of access to basic handwashing facilities (WHO 2019).

It is important to note that the North/South divide is hardly clear or bright. Drinking water pollution affects low-income and countryside communities in the developed and developing world alike, with gaps in coverage between the have and the havenots in various countries in terms of basic drinking water services (WHO 2019). Drinking water pollution issues need to be addressed in a timely manner not only in the Global South but also in the interests of the poor and rural people within the First World.

References:

• Fawell, J. and Nieuwenhuijsen, M.J. (2003). ‘Contaminants in drinking water’. British Medical Bulletin 2003; 68: 199–208. DOI: 10.1093/bmb/ldg027

• Suk, W.A., Ahanchian, H., Asante, K.A. et al (2016). ‘Environmental Pollution: An Under-recognized Threat to Children’s Health, Especially in Low- and Middle-Income Countries’. Environmental Health Perspectives • volume 124 | number 3 | March 2016 A43. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.151051

• World Health Organization ("WHO"). (2019). ‘1 in 3 people globally do not have access to safe drinking water – UNICEF, WHO’. 18 June 2019. https://www.who.int/news/item/18-06-2019-1-in-3-people-globally-do-not-have-access-to-safe-drinking-water-unicef-who