Joshua Hadfield

Natural Disasters
Clean Water

What we dont see in the United States. Most of us, enjoy washing our hands after using
the bathroom, drinking clean water, with little or no effort at all. Showering for more than five
minutes is a habit for most Americans and many spend closer to twenty five minutes soaking it
up, singing their favorite tunes. Well, what if I told you that there are more than one billion
people that dont have access to clean drinking water. Would you change your habits?
More than one billion people across our planet do not have access to clean drinking
water. Thats about sixteen percent of the worlds population. There are many causes to this
problem but the main reason has to do with sanitation. In Africa the water funnels are much
too large for catching water, this makes it possible for fecal matter to get into the water. Dirty
hands, and insects are just a few of the ways their water gets contaminated. The fecal matter
that enters into the water causes many sicknesses and health issues. The number one problem
it causes is diarrhea. Diarrhea kills more than anything else. Its the number one killer of
children under the age of five. Bottom line is that the sanitation of water is the main reason for
problems affiliated with drinking water.
The problem is occurring everywhere in the world. Although the primary locations
affected by unclean water sources are in developing countries. Out of the approximate one
billion who suffer from lack of clean drinking water, three hundred and forty five million of
them live in Africa. In Asia three hundred and ninety six million people do not have access to
clean drinking water. While in the United States and other developed countries such as Canada,
Russia and Australia only ten million people dont have access the water they need to hydrate
their bodies.
Even in our country there are people struggling to drink good healthy water. Water, is a
necessity for human survival. This isnt just a problem in one remote town in an African jungle,
this is something that affects the world in a big way.
The problem is occurring due to lack of storage. Poor storage allows for air borne
contamination. Fecal matter can enter the water through hands and insects such as flies and
cockroaches. In Africa and most parts of Asia is that the funnels collecting the water are much
too big and are easily accessible for a small bug or hands.
Solutions could be smaller funnels to the storage area. This would lessen the percentage
of water that is contaminated. Boiling water is another viable solution, but in countries that are
poverty stricken burning wood uses up a lot of energy. Washing hands with soap would also cut
diseases almost in half. Forty percent of diarrhea would be prevented if developing countries
had access to soap to wash their hands. What would help dramatically would be the use of
toilets and a sewer system. One in three people dont have access to a toilet and this allows for
fecal matter to move and affect sources of water.
In my opinion, this problem is more serious than any political movement or problem
that seems to consume our daily lives. It kills more people than any war has or probably ever
will. Its important to build awareness and help these countries better their water purification
and storage techniques.
Work Cited
Tumwine, James K. "Clean drinking water for homes in Africa and other less developed
countries." BMJ 331.7515 (2005): 468-469.
Solomon, Steven. Water: The epic struggle for wealth, power, and civilization. Harper Perennial, 2011.
Clarke, Robin T., and Jannet King. The water atlas. New York: New Press, 2004.
Fishman, Charles. "Message in a Bottle." Fast Company 117 (2007).
Ratha, Dilip, Sanket Mohapatra, and Ani Silwal. "Outlook for Remittance Flows 2010-11: Remittance
flows to developing countries remained resilient in 2009, expected to recover during 2010-11." (2010).