User:Makenkou/Water issues in developing countries

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Further information: Water pollution Women fetching polluted water in Ghana After accounting for availability or access, water quality can reduce the amount of water for consumption, sanitation, agriculture, and industrial purposes. Acceptable water quality depends on its intended purpose: water that is unfit for human consumption could still be used in industrial or agriculture applications. Parts of the world are experiencing extensive deterioration of water quality, rendering the water unfit for agricultural or industrial use. For example, in China, 54% of the Hai River basin surface water is so polluted that it is considered un-usable.

Safe water is defined as potable water that will not harm the consumer. It is one of the eight Millennium Development Goals: between 1990 and 2015 to "reduce by half the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation." Even having access to an ‘improved water source’ does not guarantee the water's quality, as it could lack proper treatment and become contaminated during transport or home storage. A study by the World Health Organization (WHO) found that estimates of safe water could be overestimated if accounting for water quality, especially if the water sources were poorly maintained. Runoff from development along the river in Pune, India could contribute to reduced water quality. Specific contaminants of concern include unsafe levels of biological pollutants and chemical contaminants, including

• metals, including iron and arsenic
• organic matter
• salts
• viruses
• bacteria
• protozoa
• parasites
• pathogenic microorganisms
• pesticides
• pharmaceuticals compounds

These contaminants can lead to debilitating or deadly water-borne diseases, such as fever, cholera, dysentery, diarrhea and others. UNICEF cites fecal contamination and high levels of naturally occurring arsenic and fluoride as two of the world's major water quality concerns. Approximately 71% of all illnesses in developing countries are caused by poor water and sanitation conditions. Worldwide, contaminated water leads to 4,000 diarrhea deaths a day in children under 5.

UNICEF notes that non-harmful physical qualities of water, such as color, taste, and smell, could cause water to be perceived as poor quality and deemed un-usable by its intended users. Child standing next to a well pump in a Bangladeshi Village. Many such wells have naturally high levels of arsenic. The volume of contaminants can overwhelm an area's infrastructure or resources to treat and remove them. Cultural norms and governance structures can also contribute further reduction or water quality. Water quality in developing countries is often hampered by lack of or limited enforcement of:

• emission standards
• water quality standards
• chemical controls
• non-point source controls (e.g. agricultural runoff)
• market based incentives for pollution control/water treatment
• follow-up and legal enforcement
• integration with other related concerns (solid waste management)
• trans-boundary regulation on shared water bodies
• environmental agency capacity (due to resources or lack of political will)
• understanding/awareness of issues and laws

Beyond human health and ecosystem health, water quality is important for various industries (such as power generation, metals, mining, and petroleum) which require high-quality water to operate. Less high quality water (either through contamination or physical water scarcity) could impact and limit the choices of technology available to developing countries. Reductions in water quality have the dual effect of not only increasing the water stress to industrial companies in these areas, but they typically also increase the pressure to improve the quality of the industrial wastewater.

However, gaps in wastewater treatment (the amount of wastewater to be treated is greater than the amount that is actually treated) represent the most significant contribution to water pollution and water quality deterioration. In the majority of the developing world, most of the collected wastewater is returned to surface waters directly without treatment, reducing the water's quality. In China, only 38% of China's urban wastewater is treated, and although 91% of China's industrial waste water is treated, it still releases extensive toxins into the water supply.

The amount of possible wastewater treatment can also be compromised by the networks required to bring the wastewater to the treatment plants. It is estimated that 15% of China's wastewater treatment facilities are not being used to capacity due to a limited pipe network to collect and transport wastewater. In São Paulo, Brazil, a lack of sanitation infrastructure results in the pollution of the majority of its water supply and forces the city to import over 50% of its water from outside watersheds. Polluted water increases a developing country's operating costs, as lower quality water is more expensive to treat. In Brazil, polluted water from the Guarapiranga Reservoir costs $0.43 per m³ to treat to usable quality, compared to only $0.10 per m³ for water coming from the Cantareira Mountains.

Water wells in developing countries

Further information: Well