Twenty years ago, kids on the streets of Pakistan used to drink tap water while playing on the streets. They were mentally and physically healthy, and adults were relatively more productive and creative in their respective work fields. Today, the situation is starkly different; tap water (read ground and surface water) is probably no safer for drinking while kids are physically and mentally weaker while productivity of adults is on decline. Today nearly 45 percent of children under the age of 5 witness stunted growth.
These bleak pictures give rise to many questions that we need to be asking. Is there a link between safe drinking water and health of those consuming it? Is impurity in drinking water contributing to stunting and malnutrition in the population? Is contamination in water causing fetal water borne diseases amongst masses? Why is ground and surface water no more fit for drinking? Is rapid and abrupt industrialization and population growth amid poor public health amenities explain the fall in quality of tap water? Is this a case of public service failure?
Above questions are to establish that ground water is no longer safe to drink and this may have adverse consequences for population at large. Once the link is established, the next sets of questions are on possible solutions to the problem. Do we need to create awareness amongst masses to not use ground water without filtration or any other treatment? Can private sector be facilitated to provide marketable solution for drinking water? How can public health facilities improve and how can industrial waste be managed properly to reduce the contamination in water?
The other factors that are required to be carefully analyzed are the impact of impurities in water on agriculture produce. Are toxic elements in water making food products unfit for consumption? Is impurity in water reducing agriculture yield?
These are the grave issues which are required to be dealt with great care by policy makers and civil society. BR Research in the past has extensively covered water issues from the perspective of water wastage. A region that in history has prospered on agriculture due to the presence of fertile land and abundance of water is now becoming a water stressed nation.
The work has been disseminated on the basis of falling per capita water availability be it due to lack of reservoirs, deteriorating infrastructure of water channels to agriculture land, poor property rights of ground water, improper pricing of water and suboptimal decision making due to rifts amongst provinces to name a few factors.
It’s time to extend the narrative from quantity to quality of water. Water is life and having both adequate quantity and quality are of utmost importance for any nation’s social and economic well being. This series of articles will attempt to highlight the causes of falling quality of drinking water and solutions required to rectify them.