It is our potable water!!!
Water is one of the most vital resources required for survival. It is the planet’s most important colorless and odorless fluid and is known as a universal solvent. Water plays a significant role in sustaining life on Earth, making mankind dependent on water to live. By definition, safe drinking water shall have to meet physio-chemical and microbiological quality parameters as per regulatory norms.
Many health organizations including WHO (World Health Organization) recommended, on average, consuming at least two liters of water every day. It is surprising to know that globally, we consume about 4000 trillion liters of fresh water a year!
Water is an essential lifeline that is helping humanity stay afloat. More than manufacturing needs and everyday requirements, clean and safe drinking water is required to nourish the human body and keep it fit and healthy.
How does Safe drinking water help?
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends drinking two liters or more of water each day to stay hydrated and healthy. The importance of safe drinking water is essential to many processes of the body. Water helps keep the body hydrated. In fact, the brain is strongly influenced by the level of hydration, dehydration can lead to headaches and loss of concentration.
Water also helps in the transport of nutrients and waste products throughout the body. It helps in the absorption and distribution of essential substances. Additionally, water is crucial for removing toxins through the blood and urine, promoting detoxification, and keeping our systems clean.
Drinking clean water is also vital for digestion and helps in breaking down your food. It aids in the breakdown and absorption of food, allowing our bodies to efficiently utilize nutrients. Without enough water, digestive issues like constipation can arise, affecting overall digestive health. Moreover, water helps in maintaining the temperature of the body. During the heat of the summer, water acts as a thermoregulator keeping your body cool.
That being said, drinking water throughout most cities, as well as urban areas is expected to have at least minimal amounts of some form of water contaminants. Often drinking water contaminants can cause a considerable amount of harm if consumed at certain levels in drinking water. However, some might be harmless.
Contaminants come in many forms, namely physical, biological, chemical, and radiological. Water-borne contaminants include disease-causing bacteria, Viruses, and Protozoan cysts and chemical contaminants like nitrate and nitrite, heavy metal like arsenic and lead, excess metals like iron and fluorine, pesticides, etc. Depending on the type of contaminant, if contaminated water is consumed on a prolonged basis or on a short-term basis in a few cases, leads to acute and chronic toxicity, liver, kidney, and intestinal damage, defect of the reproductive system, anemia, and even cancer, blue baby syndrome, etc. Microbial diseases namely cholera, diarrhea, typhoid, amebiasis, hepatitis, gastroenteritis, giardiasis, campylobacteriosis, scabies, and worm infections can occur through unsafe water consumption.
Access to clean water
On Earth, water exists in two forms, freshwater, and salt water. Less than 3 percent of the water found on earth is freshwater, and the remaining 97 percent is salt water found in the oceans.
Freshwater exists in India in the form of surface water sources such as wetlands, lakes, rivers, ponds, streams, springs, cave waters, floodplains, bogs, marshes, swamps, and groundwater. Freshwater habitats in India are extremely biodiverse and about 9.7 percent of the total Indian fauna (animals, small and large) are found to live in or near freshwater ecosystems.
However, freshwater resources are deteriorating rapidly due to increasing pollution and contamination and disappearing at an alarming rate due to human interventions.
In India, about 80 % of the water is extremely polluted by people dumping untreated sewage, silt, and garbage in rivers and lakes. Consequently, water is no longer available and people are forced to turn to illegal or costly sources. Each year, more than 1.5 million Indian children die from diarrhea. Experts predict that 40% of the population in India will not have access to a clean water source by 2030.
Around 70% of effluent is untreated, with more than 40 million liters flowing directly into the Indian lakes, rivers, and oceans every day. In the end, the groundwater is also contaminated. Because of this, proper waste management and sewage pollution cannot occur, upsetting the irrigation system.
How do we protect our drinking water quality?
Worldwide, waterborne diseases cause more deaths than AIDS, tuberculosis, and measles combined in children under 5 years old. Water pollution is not only damaging human health and food security but also contributing to the decline of India’s gross domestic product and economic stagnation. In addition, if pollution levels in the country’s water systems exceed a certain limit, GDP growth decreases by one-third with agricultural revenue decreasing by 9% in areas that are within easy reach of industry. Degradation of the environment means an annual loss of $81 billion, including water pollution in India. The health cost associated with the treatment of waterborne diseases is estimated to be about $9 billion per year.
There are several processes for protecting drinking water quality which include filtration, using radiation, chemicals, and semi-permeable membrane filtration methods. These processes will be discussed in future articles.
The current state of water purification
Though the world needs immediate action on a larger scale to mindfully use one of our most cherished resources, what is more, required are solutions that cater to the specific needs of the individual. The use of affordable devices such as water filters to remove heavy metals act as problem solvers to everyday needs of filtration and purification of water. Moreover, iron adsorbers and arsenic adsorbers are designed to treat water that is contaminated with excessive iron and toxic substances like arsenic. The exposure and consumption of these substances can cause many health issues like nausea, constipation, and various other health risks. Further, pH correction media, too, assist in correcting and balancing the pH level of the water to align with the body’s, assuring no imbalance and no room for any health problems that could be caused. Every person must have access to clean and safe water that can replenish and nourish their lives, and having affordable solutions like these can assure this.
Mindfully consuming water and ensuring that we do all we can to keep ourselves and those around us safe will put us on the path to sustainability and health.
About NICHEM
Long-standing Specialty Chemicals player with ISO 9001:2015 certification and a history of providing specialty solutions for over 25 years. The company is headed by senior chemical industry specialists with combined expertise of more than 100 years. With an emphasis on eco-friendly, non-toxic products, the company’s primary strength is research, development, and customization. More information on NICHEM can be found at https://nichem.solutions.
