An effective campaign on awareness of water quality should be launched in educational institutions and for public through mass media while seminars and workshops are important events to disseminate the findings of research on water quality. An expert on Home Economics (Food and Nutrition), University of Agriculture, Faisalabad stressed in her recent study on water quality.
She suggested regular monitoring of water coolers and water tanks of schools in order to identify the problem. 'Regular cleaning should be done after 3 months in order to avoid contamination,' she said.
Further, water should be taken from direct source during supply time. Drinking water should not be stored in unhygienic tanks without chlorinating. Low-cost household level water treatment in water tanks is essential to consume clean and uncontaminated water, she added. Water is the basic constituent of all living beings and its needs and necessity in human life cannot be under estimated, Madiha said. 'No living being can survive without water. 60-70 percent of the human body holds water. The water content of the body varies according to the amount of body fat, age and sex,' she explained. Water content of the adipose tissues is low (10percent) therefore, the water content of the body is relatively less in obese persons.
However, in new-born infants, 75 percent body mass is water. In adults of 18-40 years, it is 61 percent in males and 51 percent in females. A woman has relatively less body water than men because of more body fat, she observed. 'A normal person requires 2-2.5 litres of water daily because its helps to regulate our body temperature while working as a fluid medium for blood and lymph system. Water is responsible involved in various biochemical reactions in the body, besides being a great gift of Allah Almighty for mankind.
Madiha further mentioned that in Pakistan around 30 to 40 percent of all reported diseases and deaths are attributed to poor water quality. Moreover, the leading cause of deaths in infants and children up to 10 years of age as well as mortality rate of 136-1,000 births are reported due to diarrhoea while every fifth citizen suffer from illness caused by polluted drinking water.
Madiha reviewed that only in Karachi more than 10,000 people die annually of renal infections after consuming polluted water. Most of the victims fail to cope with financial constrain therefore cannot afford treating water-borne diseases.
In Faisalabad district during 1991, 292 cases of water-borne diseases were registered in public hospitals. People living in Faisalabad city spent 7.64 percent of their total monthly income on treatment of water borne diseases, she revealed.
The expert also recommended that water must be treated in order to make it free from disease producing organisms and toxic chemicals before human consumption.
Referring to news reports she said big cities are more at a risk of water-borne diseases, especially during rainy season. In May and June 2006, more than 40 people most of them living in major urban areas of Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Dera Ghazi khan, Gujranwala and Sheikhupura died of dehydration and other complications after consuming contaminated water. However, worst hit was Faisalabad, the third most populated city in Pakistan, where at least 16 people died due to gastro-enteritis outbreak in a week, she added.
Furthermore, Madiha has conducted test on the quality of drinking water available to the children of different schools of Ghulam Mohammad Abad at Faisalabad. Her study included physico-chemical characteristics of drinking water, bacteriological contamination and an awareness survey on water problems. She selected sampling sites according to the Map of the Ghulam Mohammad Abad at different Government and private schools in this area. Forty water samples collected from different sources available at schools were examined for physico-chemical composition. The analysis included physical analysis, chemical analysis and aesthetic examination.
Physical analysis included pH, turbidity and electrical conductivity that were determined by pH meter, Turbidimeter and EC meter, respectively. The chemical analysis included chlorides determined by Argentometric method, total hardness by EDTA titration method, total dissolved solids by evaporation technique, carbonates and bicarbonates by titration method, nitrates by UV mini Spectrophotometer, calcium by Titrimetric method and magnesium by calculation.
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