USES OF WATER

Water use can mean the amount of water used by a household or a country, or the amount used for a given task or for the production of a given quantity of some product or crop. Water as stated in my previous postings is one of the most important substances on earth. All plants and animals must have water to survive. Life on earth would not be possible if there was no water. Water’s main importance as it is well known is that it is consumed by human beings. It plays a very key role in the life of humans. Aside this, people may have other uses. Water is also essential for the healthy growth of farm crops and farm animals. It is also used in the manufacturing of products. Domestically, water is used for the following purposes Washing clothes Cooking Recreation Washing cooking and eating utensils Bathing Keeping plants alive in gardens It is most important that the water people drink and use for other purposes is clean water. As stated in my previous post, safe drinking water can also be called potable water. Disease-causing germs can find their ways into water supplies. When this happens, the water becomes polluted and people fall sick when they come into contact with it. Water can also serve industrial purposes. Industries are well noted of the production of goods i.e. processing raw materials into finished goods. They use water as a dissolvent of most of their materials before processing it into finished goods. An industry like the FANMILK INDUSTRY uses water to dissolve other chemicals to produce their products. Industries that make drugs/medicine also use water in their production. Some medicines are already in liquid form, others are not bu are taken with water. Some industries also have lawns and recreational plants that beautify their environments. Those lawns an plants are watered to keep it fresh and alive. Also, some industries are well noted for making sachet water popularly called “pure water” in Ghana. My question is, how pure is the water? This remains a mystery.. Those industries perform their day-to-day activities with water throughout. According to the ones I interviewed, their main source of water is water from the ground i.e. water from the rocks beneath. Holes are drilled into the ground deep enough to find a permanent long-lasting body of water. A pipe runs down the hole into the water and a pump is used to get the water up to ground level. Water can also serve agricultural purposes. Farmers use it to water plants for health and flourishing growth of crops. My years in the primary school made me know that plants need water to grow. When plants are watered, the water gets into the soil and the roots absorb the water and help the plant to grow. Livestock also referred to as farm stock such as cows, pigs, sheep and goats, fowl, etc are also provided with water to support their lives and growth. Religiously, Christians, Muslims, and Traditionalists use water for sacred purposes. Christians are known to baptize by sprinkling or immersion. This is because the bible says so. An illustration is that, John the Baptist baptized believers in the Jordan River. Water has played a role here. Either immersion or sprinkling is done using water. Muslims are also known to use water when performing ablution before praying. According to them, they use water to clean the filth on their body before praying because man is not supposed to go to God’s presence unclean. Water plays another role here. Traditionalists are known to put their beliefs in either stones, trees water bodies etc. Those who put their beliefs in water bodies use it in performing al their charms. Some water bodies are so sacred that, they are used to curse. Another scenario is that, traditionally, it is a taboo to go to the sea on Tuesdays. We could see that water plays a role in various aspects of life and creatures cannot live or survive without water The term "water footprint" is often used to refer to the amount of water used by an individual, community, business, or nation.
Animals as well as plants need water to survive. Plants use water to prepare their own food and enables them to grow.

The water footprint of an individual, community or business is defined as the total volume of freshwater used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual or community or produced by the business. Water use is measured in water volume consumed (evaporated) and/or polluted per unit of time. A water footprint can be calculated for any well-defined group of consumers (e.g., an individual, family, village, city, province, state or nation) or producers (e.g., a public organization, private enterprise or economic sector). The water footprint is a geographically explicit indicator, not only showing volumes of water use and pollution, but also the locations.^[4] However, the water footprint does not provide information on how the embedded water negatively or positively affects local water resources, ecosystems and livelihoods.

The water footprint of a product is the total volume of freshwater used to produce the product, summed over the various steps of the production chain. The water footprint of a product refers not only to the total volume of water used; it also refers to where and when the water is used (Source: WFN Glossary). The Water Footprint Network maintains a global database on the water footprint of products: WaterStat. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_use.

water pollution

What is pollution?

When something is added to the environment which is very harmful, poisonous or fatal to the animal, people surrounding it and other living things is called as pollution. In simple term pollution is a contamination by a chemical or other pollutant that renders part of the environment unfit for intended or desired use. It is triggered by industrial and commercial waste, agriculture practices, day to day human activities and most notably, modes of transportation and many the other sources.

Water pollution:

During my days in the primary school, i recall my teacher explained water pollution to me as: When water is unsafe for drinking, we say the water is polluted. Germs and dirt pollute water.  Water becomes polluted when,

·         People throw refuse into rivers and streams

river filled with rubbish

·         People and animals defecate near or inside a river or a stream.

Polluted water have health implications on humans in particular. All kinds of diseases are as a result of drinking polluted water which i indicated in my previous post.

Upon advanced investigation, this is what i got to know in addition to my primary school knowledge about water pollution.

 Water pollution causes due to the introduction of chemical, biological and all sort of physical matter into large bodies of water that degrade the quality of life that lives in it and consumes it. We can blame fertilizers, pesticides, or petroleum derivatives for water pollution. In addition to that the other contributors towards water pollution are Waste treatment facilities, mining, Pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers, oil spills, refiners, Failing septic systems, factories, Oil and antifreeze leaking from cars, animal waste, Soap from washing your car, house hold chemicals and many more to count.

Water pollution is a major global problem which requires ongoing evaluation and revision of water resource policy at all levels (international down to individual aquifers and wells). It has been suggested that it is the leading worldwide cause of deaths and diseases, and that it accounts for the deaths of more than 14,000 people daily. An estimated of 580 people in India die of diarrheal sickness every day.  About 70% of Ghanaians suffer from some degree of water pollution ,[4] and nearly 800 thousand out of the total 2.4 million people lack access to safe drinking water. 

a picture of a refuse filled river at anloga junction, kumasi

 In addition to the acute problems of water pollution in developing countries like Ghana, developed countries continue to struggle with pollution problems as well. In the most recent national report on water quality in the United States, 45 percent of assessed stream miles, 47 percent of assessed lake acres, and 32 percent of assessed bays and estuarine square miles were classified as polluted.

Pathogens that cause water pollution

Coliform bacteria are a commonly used bacterial indicator of water pollution, although not an actual cause of disease. Other microorganisms sometimes found in surface waters which have caused human health problems include:

·         Burkholderia pseudomallei

·         Cryptosporidium parvum

·         Giardia lamblia

·         Salmonella

·         Novovirus and other viruses

·         Parasitic worms (helminths).

High levels of pathogens may result from inadequately treated sewage discharges. This can be caused by a sewage plant designed with less than secondary treatment (more typical in less developed countries). In developed countries, older cities with aging infrastructure may have leaky sewage collection systems (pipes, pumps, valves), which can cause sanitary sewer overflows. Some cities also have combined sewers, which may discharge untreated sewage during rain storms.

REFERENCES:

www.envifacts.com

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/water_pollution