Shocking right? That it is 2018, we are still debating this question. Families struggle to clean and filter something that covers 70% of what the earth already provides. Water is considered the life-giving molecule that provides chemical energy to every living thing. It helps regulate our state of homeostasis and allows for the transportation of essential nutrients around the body. And to think, people are struggling to provide this essential molecule to their families.
The Work of the UN
For decades the United Nations have struggled to find a solution to this global crisis. In 2010, the council unanimously decided to establish that access to sufficient water for personal and domestic uses is essential. The United Nations realized that families have to travel miles just to wait hours to fill a jug of water so, the UN are trying to get the water sources within 1,000 metres from homes and collection time to not exceed 30 minutes. Walking so far for so little may seem like a pointless mission for some people in the world. They would rather find what is close regardless of the contaminants to just avoid the hassle. Because some are children who are forced to stay at home and take care of their younger siblings while the parents look for work. So these 13 to 16-year-old children are forced in a parental role which entails to travels miles on miles to just find water that can only supply for one day (Figure 1).
Quick Scientific Outlook
Water contaminants can be classified in three different ways;
Physical
Biological
Chemical
Physical and biological are considered mixtures to the water while chemical contamination is not. So the chemical equation with the physical and biological water contamination are not any different from distilled water because these are not chemically bound to the water as well as they do not create new compounds.
Chemically contamination can be caused from mining, with iron, manganese, arsenic and selenium. Here is a balanced chemical equation of when selenium is reacted with the water to form selenious acid.
SeO₂(s) + H₂O(l) → H₂SeO₃(aq)
Crazy Facts about Water
'780 million people do not have access to an improved water source.
About 6,800 gallons of water is required to grow a day’s food for a family of four.
80% of all illness in the developing world is water related.
In some countries, less than half the population has access to clean water.
40 billion hours are spent collecting water in Africa alone'
The multiple uses of dirty water are surprising. It can be used for showering, to wash dishes, clothes and teeth. Which seems to be outrageous but it seems to work.' - https://www.seametrics.com/blog/water-facts/
Here are the steps in water filtration that most first world countries use before distributing the water
Step in the filtration (* are steps that are not mandatory)(Refer to Figure 2) 1. Collection: Remove large debris particles as the water from the water source enters the treatment plant. 2. Coagulation: Requires a machine to completely neutralize the negatively charged solids that lay in the water like clay and colour producing organic substances. Flocculation: a mixing stage that increases the particle size so it can be removed in the sedimentation stage. Sedimentation: Removing particles of dust, pollen and large new particles that is against the water barrier 3. Filtration: The water flows by gravity through efficient filters made up of layers of sand and anthracite (carbon). This removes the remaining floc, other chemical and physical impurities, and most of the biological impurities (bacteria, etc.). 4. Disinfection: A disinfectant substance is distributed in the water barriers to kill micro-organisms. Disinfectants chemicals can include chlorine or ozone ammonia, potassium permanganate. 5. Aeration: To further reduce taste and colour problems that come from the hidden dissolved gas and oxidizes. Some chemicals that are successfully removed in this process are carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, methane, iron and manganese 6. Softening: Salt ions like sodium carbonate and calcium hydroxide are formed as small resin beads so as water flows through the resin beads, hardness ions trade places with salt ions resulting in the hardness to reduce. **7. Fluoridation: Addition of a small quantity of fluoride to strengthen tooth enamel so it will not decay.** 8. Post-chlorination: the final step in the treatment of water. This method involves adding a minimum level of chlorine into the water to went it will be distributed in the homes of the city. **9. Ammoniation: Ammonia stabilizes the chlorine so that it remains dissolved in the treated water for longer periods of time.**
Now imagine that last night you drank a cup of water that you know did not go through any of these steps. Just imagine.
Article; https://thewaterproject.org/water-crisis/water-in-crisis-ethiopia
In this article, the author talks about the water problem in Ethiopia. And the effects and sacrifices families have to make each day. Children are forced to miss school so that they can go to the water pump and collect water for their families. The author states that some of the villagers are drinking from streams that contain human and animal waste. Further down the article, former Ethiopian habitants talk about their experiences in those situations. And surprisingly, they never had issues, and never once thought anything was wrong until they moved away from Ethiopia.
Personal Reflection I chose this article because of the personal connection I made with the problem at hand. My parents were both born and raised in Ethiopia. They lived opposite lives and they still laugh to this day about the manner of their first encounter. My mom was raised in a suburban, gated community. She had 7 siblings, a stay-at-home mom, and three maids. She was also able to turn on the tap in her kitchen whenever she pleased.
My father lived in an area far from the city. He had to walk miles in the early mornings just to get to school on time. (Refer to Figure 4) My dad and his brother began to look after themselves since their parents were struggling to make ends-meet. He would always tell me about the rationing he and his family had to do to ensure a meal for the next day. He drank water from the streams that he traveled by on his journey to and from school. The fact that there are people drinking from dirty streams would seem bizarre in Canada. What we don’t know is that there are people in Canada suffering from the same problem. Instead of constructing a new hockey stadium in Ottawa, we should put that money to water purifiers for people that do not have access to sanitized water.
What is your vision of the future of water in developing(third world) countries? As a fellow Canadian, what are 2/3 ways that we can be effective in helping developing countries with their water issues? And do you think water issues will not be a world issue in the foreseeable future? Briefly explain.
Sources
Textbook
Haberer S., Salciccioli., & Sanader M, (2011). Nelson Chemistry 11: University Preparation. Toronto, Ontario: Nelson Education Ltd (Chapter 9.2)
Website
United Nations. (1999-01-14). Water. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/water/
Researchgate. (2008-02-07). What is the difference between coagulation, flocculation and sedimentation? Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_is_the_difference_between_coagulation_flocculation_and_sedimentation
Minnesota Rural Water Association. (2017-11-01). Retrieved from
Water Softener Facts. (2011-11-07). How Softeners Work. Retrieved from https://watersoftenerfacts.ca/how-softeners-work/
Safe Drinking Water Foundation. (2016-11-16). Water Fluoridation in Canada. Retrieved from
My vision of the future of third world countries is that clean water will be accessible for everyone, as it is a basic necessity for survival. As you mentioned, I believe that as a human race, we need to set our priorities straight. Instead of building stadiums worth billions of dollars, we should help out the third world countries by instead building wells and filters so that they will be able to live a clean and healthy life. In Canada alone, tens of billions of dollars are collected by the government from taxes each year. Even a portion of this money could go a long way in terms of aid for third world countries. As individuals however, we are abl…