World Water Monitoring Day

When the well is dry, we know the worth of water. — Ben Franklin

On World Water Monitoring Day, I would like to focus on the growing problem of water sanitation and the lack of clean water. During the last two months, we read of newspaper reports about at least two major outbreaks of cholera and typhoid that were caused by water contamination. In Calamba City, a total of 1,816 patients were treated in hospitals and community and village health centers for typhoid fever last February. Just last month, a cholera outbreak was also reported in some towns in Sultan Kudarat, killing 21 people and affecting at least 50 others, among these children. Both incidents were caused by water contamination.

Waterborne diseases remain to be a public health concern in our country. This is mainly because up to now, most of the population rely on septic tanks for waste disposal. There is no wastewater treatment technology as utilized by most progressing countries. Findings of the World Health Organization under a water supply and sanitation report show that only five percent of our total population is connected to a sewer network. This means that from the septic tanks, untreated wastewater mostly flow into canals and waterways. We can just imagine what happens to our rivers with the bulk of the population living in Metro Manila. Thus, it is not surprising that Pasig River is one of the most polluted rivers in the world. This kind of untreated disposal also results to the massive sludge that clogs the waterways and causes floods. This is aside from the severe threat this poses on the health of the populace.

The cholera disease outbreak due to water contamination that happened in the remote town of the Manobos in Mindanao proves that the freshwater resources in such rural areas are not spared from the growing water crisis. It is sad that we did not take care of our environment. Surface and groundwater could have been more than enough but it is now found to be 58 percent contaminated. The main source of pollution comes from untreated wastewater and industrial wastes. (ADB report, 2004/2007). Meycauayan River in Bulacan was found to be the most polluted river in Asia, due to industrial wastes dumped by surrounding factories.

Now, only one third of Filipino river systems are considered suitable for public water supply. It is estimated that in 2025, water availability will be marginal in most major cities and in eight of the 19 major river basins. Freshwater resources are running out everywhere in our global village, and not only because of pollution. Great rivers of the world like the Rio Grande and Colorado in the US, the Yellow River in China, the Nile in Egypt, the Indus in Pakistan, the Amu Darya in Central Asia are drying up because their waters irrigate food crops. Therefore, we not only have a food crisis with the growing population. Water scarcity is fast becoming the real food crisis here and abroad.

As water becomes more polluted, it becomes more precious. More money and resources are needed to clean it up. Now we find an increasing number of households buying bottled water which is becoming more expensive, simply because tap water is not drinkable. The local government units (LGUs) and the barangays must be provided with the necessary knowledge, tools and resources to elicit the awareness and active participation of every individual and family in keeping the water sources clean, primarily by the proper management of waste. If we do not act now, we may soon find our wells and springs drying up and with not a drop of clean water to give.