Access to Water: Essential for Life & Public Health - Essay Sample

Introduction

Water has a considerable influence on public health. At a basic level, water is required for consumption purposes daily, which makes access of at least a minimum water is essential for life. Hence, water has a broader influence on wellbeing and public health, which is determined by issues like the quality and quantity of water supplied (Onda et al., 2012). The priority is to provide water access, which might be restricted by poor continuity, high costs, low coverage, poor quality, and insufficient quantity. Thus, in terms of clean water that the public drink, all issues that restrict access has to be addressed for public health improvement.

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The paper examines the impacts of safe water on global health; then, it looks at the improvement of water, sanitation, and health. It also examines chemical contamination of water and its impacts on public health, and finally, it addresses the recommended measures for safe water to improve public health.

Impact of Safe Water on Global Health

The supply of safe water, the presence of hygienic sanitation, and proper management of water are essential to global health and, specifically, the health of United States citizens (Brown & Clasen, 2012). About one-tenth of world disease burden can be prevented through increasing access to water that is safe for drinking, improving water management to minimize water-borne diseases and reduce the acts of drowning at time of recreation, and improvement of hygiene and sanitation.

Various studies done globally, have illustrated that when a community takes the action of water supply improvement, enhancement of sanitation and hygiene, then the outcome is improved overall health. A more significant influence on public health is the outcome of the quality of water, as the microbiological quality water does a create job in the prevention of ill-health. Outbreaks of infectious diseases that relate to water usage are caused by poor microbiological quality, which causes various epidemics (Onda et al., 2012). Globally, the protective role of water is mostly unseen, and, in most instances, it is taken for granted, especially in the wealthier countries where significant attention is on the role of water in disease transmission rather than the role it plays protection of health. Water, together with public health, is two resources that are considered precious, and together they improve the development prospects.

In the United States, the Federal Safe Water Drinking Act have a baseline for the quality required for drinking water across the country, which has to be implemented by the community and individuals together with various institutions (A.P.H.A., 2019). The act has been implemented by some Great lakes States such as Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio to ensure the drinking water crisis from occurring like the one that took place in Flint, Michigan. The State of Michigan has implemented the maximum that is stricter compared to those of federal in the level of contamination in drinking water that ensures safe water supply sources for good public health.

Improving Water, Sanitation, and Health

Various programs such as the W.A.S.H are putting a lot of effort to integrate quality water with sanitation and health, as they believe that improvement in sanitation through regular wash has an essential impact on public health. The W.A.S.H program does great work in connecting health with the environment (Campbell et al., 2014). WASH holds that the sources of water must be sustainable and cleanness maintained. Sanitation and waste must be dealt with in a manner that does not impact the environment negatively or puts the health of humans at risk. It also holds that a degraded or otherwise polluted climate makes hygiene impossible.

Several W.A.S.H programs such as compost toilets and various other technologies can be sustainable and effective, and it ensures good public health (Campbell et al., 2014). Water quality can be improved when various stakeholders fully implement the Safe Drinking Water Act aspects, which include the maximum level of contamination, techniques used in treatment, and standards followed in monitoring.

Chemical Contamination of Water and Its Impact on Public Health

The Chemical contamination of water mostly the drinking water has effects on public health, and this is mostly chronic instead of acute unless particular pollution occurred and lower priority is attached to the pollution compared to microbiological contamination. The various chemical pollutants that affect public health are fluoride, nitrate, mercury, and arsenic. Also, there is a rising number of several organic compounds that are released into the water, and the effects of such compounds on health are poorly understood, but the effects are carcinogenic.

Long-term problems on human health are caused when there is a high concentration of such chemicals in the water. Hence, there is a need for protection of the sources for drinking water from chemical combination via application of adequate treatment of wastewater, the definition of the zones to be protected, and land-use control (Brown & Clasen, 2012). The chemicals pose high risks to public health, and they are found in the sources of drinking water. The presence of pesticides, nitrites, and nitrates in water supplies owing to seepage from septic tanks and fertilizer application, which leads to the high concentration of such chemicals in agricultural areas.

Recommended Measures to Enhance Public Health

The efforts put in place to improve hygiene, water, and sanitation interact with each other in the process of boosting the overall public health. When the public access sanitation, which includes latrines in communities, assists in preventing contamination of drinking water from human wastes and a result, it reduces infections (Onda et al., 2012). The high impact practices are not necessarily high-tech health measures, but they also encompass frequent washing of hands with water together with storing the drinking water in safe facilities.

Effective management of the environment has the potential to lower the rates of various diseases like malaria and prevents death. The environmental management measures comprise of elimination of habitats like standing water that acts as breeding grounds for mosquitos. Environmental management is mostly done in areas where the pattern of transmission of diseases by water is less intense. Water management in such areas is given priority as it is the critical approach to environmental management, and it should be based on both understanding and assessing the local vector ecology.

Summary

In summary, water is essential for public health as it is required for consumption purposes daily, making it is vital for life. In both the United States and the rest of the world, the supply of safe water, the presence of hygienic sanitation, and proper management of water are essential to public health, especially in the prevention of disease burden. A more significant influence on public health is the outcome of the quality of water, as the microbiological quality water prevent ill-health. In most instances, the protective role of water is mostly unseen and taken for granted, as significant attention is focused on the role of water in disease transmission instead of health protection.

The Safe Water Drinking Act in the United States plays a major role in setting the basis for ensuring safe water is available for drinking to the citizens. The act has been implemented some Great lakes States such as Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio to ensure the drinking water crisis from occurring like the one that took place in Flint, Michigan. W.A.S.H program integrates quality water with sanitation and health to enhance public health through the connection of health with the environment. More so, various chemical contamination from elements such as pesticides, nitrates, nitrites, and fluoride is harmful to human health when consumed in high concentrations, and such effects can be reduced by good management of water sources and effective management of the environment.

References

American Public Health Association. (2019). Drinking-Water and Public Health in the United States. https://www.apha.org/policies-and-advocacy/public-health-policy-statements/policy-database/2020/01/13/drinking-water-and-public-health-in-the-united-states

Brown, J., & Clasen, T. (2012). High adherence is necessary to realize health gains from water quality interventions. PloS one, 7(5). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3346738/

Campbell, S. J., Savage, G. B., Gray, D. J., Atkinson, J. A. M., Magalhaes, R. J. S., Nery, S. V., ... & Williams, G. M. (2014). Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH): a critical component for sustainable soil-transmitted helminth and schistosomiasis control. PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 8(4). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3983087/

Onda, K., LoBuglio, J., & Bartram, J. (2012). Global access to safe water: accounting for water quality and the resulting impact on M.D.G. progress. International journal of environmental research and public health, 9(3), 880-894. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph9030880