Not as much water around as you think
Dear Editor:
The recent report that C.B.S. has concerns about its water supply made me pause to take a look at the place of water in our lives. Along with oxygen and food, water is essential for our very existence. Our relationship with water raises various questions and concerns. Here are a few.
C.B.S. has a population of about 27,000. According to reports, installing a system to add more water may take up to 10 years. It makes you wonder how large cities with populations of millions manage their water supply.
According to the U.N., 2.2 billion people do not have safe drinking water, which amounts to one in every four people. Disproportionately, women and girls are the most affected. Around 1.4 million people die annually from contaminated water. The World Council of Churches this past year sponsored “Seven Weeks for Water” (February 18 to April 1). Water justice involves supply, control, sanitation, inequality and climate change.
There is a lot of water but most of it is ocean, amounting to 97 per cent, leaving just three per cent for human consumption and use. But we don’t benefit from even this amount of water because we pollute and overuse water. Our water is affected by industrial, chemical, and agricultural run off, pathogens and everyday human use. Keeping our drinking water safe is an ongoing issue. In Newfoundland and Labrador, we have 181 municipal boil water advisories, some going back decades. Unsafe drinking water can cause ever so many diseases, such as cholera, hepatitis A, polio, dysentery and typhoid.
We also misuse and waste a lot of water. Most of us are guilty of this in our personal use. The average American family wastes about 180 gallons of water per week. Last summer’s drought and fires should be a warning about taking water for granted.
We even talk about war over water. The World Conflict Chronology identified 420 water-related conflicts in 2024. Most of these are local, such as in Algeria where water shortages, led to protest riots or in Cameroon where rice farmers clashed with fishers over access to water. More worrying are waterways which go through several countries, such as the River Nile, and possible conflicts over storage and use.
The United Nations states in its Sustainable Development Goals that everyone should have access to water and sanitation.
Everett Hobbs
C.B.S.