Clean and safe water is life

Water is a very essential resource for human health, agriculture, industry, ensuring integrity and sustainability of the Earth’s ecosystem. However, this precious commodity is now running scarce in many regions of the world because the worldwide water demand is increasing.

Domestic and municipal water use is taken to include clean water supply to households for drinking, cooking, hygiene, and other purposes. However, many external factors are affecting surface water quality depending of the soil characteristics, the land use and the liquid and solid waste generated and dumped into the water as results of anthropogenic activities.

In many rural parts of the world, the availability of potable water is limited, compelling local communities to use untreated water from open sources such as rivers, lakes and unprotected wells, dams and other kind of surface water for domestic purposes including drinking.

Water quality problems are still increasing, such as eutrophication, elevated groundwater NO3, siltation of navigational waterways, and contamination of waters with agrochemicals, heavy metals and pathogens. Regarding the presence of agrochemicals, nitrate is a very important issue for water quality, and above all, is associated with notable changes implemented in agriculture and farming in the last decades (OMS, 2004).

Meanwhile, water quality continues to worsen. Even where there is enough water to meet current needs, many streams, rivers, lakes and groundwater resources are becoming increasingly polluted. However, there is no frequent water quality tests done especially on open water sources while are being used in different domestic activities.

Water Access Rwanda is providing the solution.

Water Access Rwanda is solving the issue by making water quality tests for their clients as the research showed that many ground and surface water sources in Rwanda have unknown water parameters affecting its quality.

Surface water and groundwater resources management requires information on the changes in the status of the water resources which is based on rainfall data, rock type, groundwater and surface water abstraction data, groundwater levels and stream discharges and water quality information; I therefore recommend all involved water agencies, governments and NGOs to make water related data documented and frequently monitored in terms of its quality and future sustainability.