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Human health and water quality
In Canada we are lucky to have plentiful supplies of good drinking water sources. Water-related illnesses – typhoid fever, cholera, dysentery – are almost unknown in this country today. Waste and wastewater treatment, the development and enforcement of drinking water guidelines, public health practices and education – all have resulted in a decrease in water related illnesses in Canada. Developing nations are less fortunate: 80% of their diseases are water-related.
The price Canadians must pay to prevent water-borne disease is constant vigilance against bacterial contamination. Periodic beach closures and local epidemics are evidence that the battle is never won. These problems underscore the need for maintaining strict control over water quality and for improving water and wastewater treatment.
Of serious concern today are the toxic chemicals that enter our waters from many different sources, including industry, agriculture and the home. Little is known about the effects of these toxic substances on human health; often the effects do not become noticeable for long periods of time, and it is difficult to distinguish them from the effects of other factors that impact on our day-to-day life (e.g., nutrition, stress, air quality). Much more remains to be done to control toxic chemical pollution. Meanwhile, we can all contribute to the prevention of water pollution by not abusing the water or the land.
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