Water and Pakistan

The idea that water is fit to drink or drinkable is not one that most of us routinely think about. The only types of water we distinguish are tap, spring, mineral, flavoured, or carbonated. The only time we may have had to distinguish between potable and non-potable water is on a camping trip or some other outdoor adventure. But the sad fact is that most of the people on this planet do not have access to water that is fit to drink. That begs the question: what do they drink then? The obvious answer is they drink whatever water they can get their hands on.

According to a report by the Leadership for Environment and Development, by the year 2025, 52 nations comprising half the world's population, will have a severe shortage of potable water. In the next 25 years, some 3 billion people will be facing water shortages.

In Pakistan, the vast majority of the country's 135 million inhabitants do not have access to drinkable water. Pakistan's attempt to raise the living standards of its citizens has meant that economic development has largely taken precedence over environmental issues. Unchecked use of hazardous chemicals, vehicle emissions, and industrial activity has contributed to a number of environmental and health hazards, chief among them being water pollution. Much of the country suffers from a lack of potable water due to industrial waste and agricultural runoff that contaminates drinking water supplies.

Poverty and high population growth have aggravated, and to a certain extent, caused, these environmental problems. This means that most people are forced to use unclean water not only for all their sanitation needs, farming, and livestock but for drinking as well.

For much of the population, often there is only one water source. It may be a nearby river or pond, maybe rain water from a catch basin or a creek. Typically, the water source is used by both humans and animals. People use it for bathing, washing up, doing laundry, collecting for cooking, and drinking. Needless to say, the water is anything but clean.

Drinking water that is unsafe can, and usually does, lead to all sorts of health-related problems such as dysentery which is severe, prolonged diarrhea with bloody stools, fever, and weakness; cholera and typhoid; flukes -- stagnant, polluted water, especially in tropical areas, often contains blood flukes. If you swallow flukes, they will bore into the bloodstream, live as parasites, and cause disease; and leeches. If you swallow a leech, it can hook onto the throat passage or inside the nose. It will suck blood, create a wound, and move to another area. Each bleeding wound may become infected.
Pakistan is currently in the midst of what some are saying is the worst water crisis the country has ever seen. The drought affecting the region threatens agricultural output, and levels in the country's reservoirs are dangerously low.

The lack of water is taking on political overtones with parties organizing protests over the issue. One-day strikes have been called in Karachi to protest water shortages in the province of Sindh. The protests have been met with harsh responses from local authorities.

While drought and pollution play a significant role in the lack of safe drinking water, some critics maintain that a large part of the problem is a result of poor management. By some estimates, as much as 60% of Pakistan's fresh water is allowed to go wasted, flowing back into the sea. Only 40% of the water is used.

It is imperative that Pakistan seeks out new and cheaper ways to provide safe drinking water for its people. Some experts have looked at inexpensive desalination techniques, ones that could be employed on a mass scale. To be sure, this precious commodity, the very lifeblood of humans, is getting scarcer and scarcer everyday.

Drinking water guidelines

Safe drinking water is everybody's business. Managing drinking water supplies properly, from the source water to the consumer's tap, takes a great deal of knowledge and coordination among multiple stakeholders--from governments and businesses, to individuals like you and me.

A shared responsibility

In Canada, the responsibility for making sure drinking water supplies are safe is shared between the provincial, territorial, federal and municipal governments. The day-to-day responsibility of providing safe drinking water to the public generally rests with the provinces and territories, while municipalities usually oversee the day to day operations of the treatment facilities.

Health Canada's Water Quality and Health Bureau plays a leadership role in science and research. Its mandate and expertise lies in protecting the health of all Canadians by developing the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality in partnership with the provinces and territories. These guidelines are used by every jurisdiction in Canada and are the basis for establishing drinking water quality requirements for all Canadians.

Health Canada is recognized as a World Health Organisation/Pan American Health Organisation (WHO/PAHO) Collaborating Centre for Water Quality, and participates in the development of  WHO guidelines for drinking water. The Bureau also works closely and shares information with other government agencies such as the  United States Environmental Protection Agency.

The multi-barrier approach

The best way to make sure drinking water supplies are kept clean, safe and reliable is to take a preventive risk management approach. This means understanding each water supply from its beginning in nature to where it reaches you, the consumer. This understanding--about the water's characteristics, the ways it could become contaminated, and the type of treatment it needs--comes from collecting and studying data.

The drinking water supply can be broken down into three parts: the source water, the drinking water treatment system, and the distribution system which carries the treated water to homes, businesses, schools, and other buildings. The plumbing inside your home is an extension of the distribution system.

As drinking water travels on its journey to you, it can become contaminated in many ways. The multi-barrier approach to managing drinking water supplies is a preventive risk management approach that identifies all known and potential hazards and makes sure barriers are in place to reduce or eliminate the risk of contamination.

Drinking water guidelines

In order to know whether their drinking water management program is working, drinking water authorities need to have benchmarks for water quality. These benchmarks come in the form of drinking water guidelines. Guidelines make it possible for drinking water to be tested at various points along its journey and analysed to determine whether it is safe to drink. The Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality are established by the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Committee on Drinking Water and published by Health Canada.

The guidelines for some contaminants, like E.coli which indicates the presence of microbiological pathogens, are very clear and should never be exceeded because people will become sick soon after drinking contaminated water. Others, like many of the chemical guidelines, are based on the best available science and give a good indication of health effects that might be seen in some people if we consume high amounts of the chemical in drinking water over a period of decades.

Products and materials that come into contact with drinking water

Another way that drinking water can become contaminated is by the products and materials with which it comes into contact. Water is a solvent and can leach metals and other chemicals from pipes, fittings, fixtures, and other products. Health Canada works with national and international standards-setting organizations to develop health-based performance standards for these products and materials to make sure they are not contributing harmful contaminants to your drinking water.

Herbal Drinking Water

If you are someone who keeps track of new herbal products  then you might not have forgotten the successful launch of Laboob Sager- the herbal Viagra, by Tamil Nadu Medicinal Plant Farms and Herbal Medicines Corporation Ltd. (TAMPCOL). Now this state-owned corporation of Tamil Nadu government is set to launch its all new herbal product- Herbal Drinking Water. The corporation claims it to be first of its kind in the country.

Herbal water is already manufactured and marketed in the US by infusing organic culinary herbs in pure water. This  water doesn't contain artificial sweeteners, preservatives, or additives of any other kind. They are made refreshing, aromatic drink by granting flavours such as those of lavender, mint, cinnamon, lemongrass, vanilla, ginger, cloves, cardamom etc.

Herbal drinking water, developed by TAMPCOL contains herbal extracts along with useful bio-active properties that play a major role in maintaining good health as evidenced by Siddha and original scriptures of Ayurveda as well as modern scientific theories.

This herbal water will be sold in 1,000 ml and 500 ml pet bottles and competitively priced in the growing mineral water market. According to G A Rajkumar, the Chairman and Managing Director, TAMPCOL, the new water is set to be launched in the next two months after getting the ISI certificate and other related licenses.

What remains to be seen is that whether the corporation will follow suit of other nation and make its herbal drinking water flavored or not? Flavored or not, the healthy herbal water is surely a thing to wait for!