Saturday, 22 March 2014 00:00
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Water, many people predict, will cause the next Great War, such is its increasing importance in a world scorched of resources. At home of course such dire predictions have failed to cause alarm because by global standards Sri Lanka continues to be blessed by Mother Nature’s bounty. But the question of quality and the sustaining of this precious resource needs attention if the country is to remain inclusive in its access to water.
Although 84% of Sri Lankans have access to improved water sources, Sri Lanka needs to focus on improving the quality of drinking water, the UN Children’s agency UNICEF has said marking the United Nations’ annual World Water Day.
Almost four years after the world met the global target set in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for safe drinking water, and after the UN General Assembly declared that water was a human right, the key issue now, is how efforts can be strengthened to ensure safe water for all Sri Lankans.
Currently, 84% of Sri Lankans can access improved water sources but there are still vulnerable groups that do not have access to clean water and water safety in general is a concern. This is why authorities need to increase access in schools and remote rural areas and also support national efforts to improve water quality.
Globally, estimates from UNICEF and WHO published in 2013 show that a staggering 768 million people do not have access to safe drinking water, causing hundreds of thousands of children to sicken and die each year. Most of the people without access are poor and live in remote rural areas or urban slums.
UNICEF says it believes that consumer demand and quality assurance systems need to be in place to ensure critical water quality parameters, especially in an age where globally and locally, industrial and agricultural water pollution, along with climate change, continue to be key issues.
People who get water from such sources as household connections, public standpipes, boreholes, protected dug wells, protected springs and rainwater collections all face the danger of unclean water. It must not be forgotten that since it is not yet possible to measure water quality globally, dimensions of safety, reliability and sustainability may actually be slowing progress.
As much as 80% of the developing world’s illnesses are attributed to unclean water. Women and girls are usually tasked with collecting water resulting in security issues for these groups. While the Sri Lankan Government must be applauded for allocating billions of rupees to water projects around the country the cost of obtaining water connections to households still remain beyond the reach of poor people who dwell in urban slums. Many of them are unable to pay the Water Board to lay pipelines to their homes, since there is usually no instalment plan for it.
All this boils down to economic cost.
People who do not have access to safe drinking water usually waste their energy and are often unproductive. This in turn has a direct effect on their standard of life and by extension the economy. Therefore clean, accessible, sustainable water sources is such a cornerstone of an economy that it is a basic right. One that must be kept sight of at all times.
