The Importance of Water Today

The Importance of Water

Water is considered to be the most important resource for sustaining ecosystems, which provide life-supporting services for people, animals, and plants. Because contaminated water is a major cause of illness and death, water quality is a determining factor in human poverty, education, and economic opportunities. Unfortunately, worldwide water quality is declining, threatening the health of ecosystems and humans worldwide. Various factors influence this deterioration, including population growth, rapid urbanization, land use, industrial discharge of chemicals, and factors resulting from climate change.

Today, hundreds of millions of people do not have access to improved sources of drinking water, leaving them at risk for water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) related diseases. Worldwide, 1.5 million children die annually from diarrheal illnesses that are caused by unsafe water, poor sanitation, and inadequate hygiene. Devastating epidemics of cholera, such as the 2010-2011 outbreak in Haiti that caused more than 500,000 cases of illness and 7,000 deaths, are only the “tip of the iceberg,” as most waterborne diseases, illnesses, and deaths are never reported.

Global Water Fast Facts

1. Water, sanitation and hygiene has the potential to prevent at least 9.1% of the global disease burden and 6.3% of all deaths.

2.  Worldwide, 884 million people do not have access to an improved water source. Many more obtain their drinking water from improved, but microbiologically unsafe, sources.

3.  An estimated 2.5 billion people – half of the developing world – lack access to adequate sanitation (more than 35% of the world’s population).

4.  According to the World Health Organization and UNICEF, improved sanitation could save the lives of 1.5 million children per year who would otherwise succumb to diarrheal diseases.

5.  The impact of clean water technologies on public health in the U.S is estimated to have had a rate of return of 23 to 1 for investments in water filtration and chlorination during the first half of the 20th century.

6.  Water and sanitation interventions are cost effective across all world regions. These interventions were demonstrated to produce economic benefits ranging from US$ 5 to US$ 46 per US$ 1 invested.

Posted by George Daniels on Wednesday February 22 2012, 7:22 AM EST. Ref: CDC. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0