@hunger Thirsty?

? In the spring of 2000 in the town of Walkerton, Ontario, Canada went without water as thousands were sickened when the towns water supply was found to be contaminated with E. Coli. The commission charged with conducting an inquiry into the outbreak found that the estimated economic cost of the outbreak was in excess of $155 million. The cost in human lives was 7. A 2009 New York Times article shows that more than 20 percent of the United States water treatment systems had violated key provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act over the previous five years. Contamination ranged from metals such as arsenic and uranium, and bacterial contamination from contamination by sewage.
In Californias central Valley many wells are affected by nitrate contamination, which is responsible for blue baby syndrome, according to a recent study by UC Davis. Infants who drink water that exceeds the nitrate standard could become seriously ill and die, according the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. From personal experience, many of the shallow water sources in developed areas of the United States are heavily contaminated with petroleum products, fuel additives, industrial solvents, pesticides, and even rocket fuel. According to the CIA, in the United States 99% of the population has access to improved drinking water sources, in Canada slightly under 100% of the population has access to improved drinking water sources. Yet there are countless examples of contaminated drinking water sources.

If we compare this to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and Haiti (the four countries Ive already profiled), those numbers are 48%, 90%, 23%, and 63%. The numbers in rural areas are lower in all cases (Somalias rural number is 6%). Even the unimproved water source numbers arent great. Improved drinking water sources are not necessary for agriculture. Its also relatively cheap to install a well, even to install a filtration/treatment system. Especially when compared to $155 million to clean up a small problem in Canada. Development is easy. Now, at @hunger it is not our goal to be political. However, it is my personal view that with increased development, meant to help (even indirectly) the populations (eg. through employment, development of groundwater sources for industrial production), must come regulations meant to protect the very groundwater sources that are needed for drinking or for watering crops or cattle. Compared to the cost of building a factory and developing a water source, the cost of implementing protection systems for groundwater is minimal. Landfills must be located where they will not contaminate water sources, underground storage tanks need secondary or even tertiary containment and should be sited well away from groundwater. Excessive use of fertilizers should be reduced as the plants only take up so much nitrogen, the rest is lost to the soil and groundwater. In fact, most polluters are unaware that anything has gone wrong. Effective monitoring systems need to be installed and sampling should be performed relatively regularly. This is a must in order to keep water potable. People dont only die of hunger, they also die of thirst. According to the World Health Organisation, approximately 1 billion people lack access to an improved water supply. Its all well and good to buy water from another country or a private company, but without your own reliable water source, there is little that can be counted on and a lot of money spent that could be directed elsewhere.

Heres a short list of diseases and health problems that can be caused by contaminated drinking water. (Most, if not all, cause death or serious acute and chronic health problems) . -diarrhea -arsnicosis -cholera -fluorsis -various worms and parasites -schistosomiasis -trachoma -typhoid -cancer -tooth/skeletal damage -E coli -blue baby syndrome -heavy metal poisoning

Christopher Cecile @hunger

Sources: CBC News http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/walkerton/ New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/business/energyenvironment/08water.html?pagewanted=all National Public Radio http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=148504716 CIA World Factbook https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ UNICEF http://www.unicef.org/wash/index_wes_related.html World Health Organisation http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/facts_figures/en/index.html