Failure to provide safe drinking water and adequate sanitation services to the entire population looms as a public health concern, particularly in developing countries. This has lead to high infant mortality rates due to preventable water-borne diseases. This paper will examine the relationship between water quality and general public health. The paper will also compare water quantity and quality concerns between the United States and Guatemala, which is a typically developing country, found in Central America.
Water has a profound effect on human health. Some minimum amount of water is essential for consumption on a daily basis for survival basis. Therefore, access to some form of water is required for maintenance of life processes. However, water has much broader influence on health and well-being and issues such as the water quality and water quantity of is a significant health determinant of individual groups and the societies as a whole (Rajib & Danai, 2010).
Access to water by various population groups is restricted by various factors including insufficient quantity, poor quality, expensive costs relative to ability and willingness to pay, and low coverage. Water quality, however, has the greatest influence on public health. Precisely, microbial quality of water is essential in preventing ill health. Poor water microbial quality is likely to cause water-borne diseases leading to the occurrence of serious epidemics. To improve public health, all issues hindering access of safe-drinking water should be addressed.
Low water quantity, which is based on water availability results in a decrease in quality of water due to higher concentration of material, chemical and biological contaminants. Use of water resources and land is related in an un-equivocal way. Land type and intensity of land use strongly influence on water sources (Julie, 2009). Over the last twenty years, quality of water across the United States has improved significantly. This can be attributed to the combination of regulations, appropriate management practices, and renewed stewardship ethics, which have controlled various problems previously leading to decrease in water availability/quantity and water quality. Conversely, in Guatemala, supply of water for the populations is characterised mismanagement due to unspecified allocation of management responsibilities. Moreover, there exist little regulatory policies and monitory measures to ensure adequate water provision services.
Socio-demographic changes in the population of the United States, particularly population growth are placing high demands on available water sources. To solve this, various cities in the United States have created reservoirs retaining substantial gallons of water to cater for the increasing populations demands. In contrast, Guatemala experiences rapid population growth annually, due to immigrations into the country, thus, leading to heightened demands for water. However, systems placed to address this lack efficiency; citizens are forced to use water rationally, therefore, increasing the chances of using water, which is of poor quality.
The water and sanitation sector in the United States has raised awareness amongst its citizens on how water quantity and water quality are related land use. Use of land is determined by environmental factors including characteristic of the soil, topography and vegetation (Mariele, 2008). Land use in the United States is thus well managed as citizens have a better understanding on the link between water sources and land cover. In Guatemala, water and sanitization sector has limited service delivery for its citizens. It has not educated them on ways to use land appropriately, as it ensures ambient water availability. Unevenly distributed services have made citizens unable to obtain adequate amounts of fresh water.
Deductively, there is a possibility of water scarcity in different parts of the world due to growth in population, climate change and changes in land use. Efficient systems should, therefore, be put in place to counteract the expected effects due to reduced water quantity and quality, which is bound to increase outbreaks of water-borne diseases.
References
Julie, A. (2009). Maintaining industrial water supplies in Jordan. Journal of facilities
management, 1, 24-36.
Mariele, E. (2008). An analysis of the requirements for DSS on integrated basin management.
International journal on management of environmental quality, 19, 82-96.
Rajib, S. & Danai, T. (2010). Water communities: Introduction and overview: Munich. Hanser
publishers.
