Water is one of the basic needs of society. We use it to hydrate ourselves, we use it wash our clothing, we use it to rinse our produce before we eat it, and we use it to keep clean. Few things in our lives are more important to us than water. In addition to our personal uses it is also important for industrial, commercial, medical, and laboratory uses. Monitoring water quality, therefore, is essential. Water quality indicators can help you know that the water you are using and drinking is safe.
The dangers of contaminated water are enormous. In fact, unsafe water causes 4 billion individual cases of diarrhea every year, and results in 2.2 million deaths. Unfortunately, most of the deaths are children under five. Translated, this means that 15% of the child deaths each year can be attributed to diarrhea. Unbelievable. A child dying every 15 seconds because of contaminated water. While contaminated water is a problem everywhere, it is especially a problem in India. In that country alone, the single largest cause of illness and death among children is diarrhea, killing nearly half a million children each year. Water quality indicators and well water test kits could help end these problems.
What are you doing to know that the water your family is drinking is safe? Did you know that every day 2 million tons of sewage and industrial and agricultural waste are discharged into the world’s water source? How certain are you that your local officials are closely monitoring the purity of what you are drinking? Having your own water quality indicators can help you put your mind at ease.
Getting an analysis of water quality parameters is the first step to knowing that the water you are drinking is safe. These parameters can show the chemical, physical, biological, and radiological characteristics of water. Knowing this information allows you to measure the condition of water and compare it to the requirements safe drinking water levels.
People who camp and hike need to be especially careful about water quality. Unfortunately, a recent study of the streams in America found that only 28% have healthy biological communities when they are compared to best possible conditions in their region. If the stream water is not safe enough to support plants and animals, it certainly isn’t safe enough for people to drink. For this reason, a fresh water test kit should be an essential part of every camper and hiker’s gear. If fresh water quality kits indicate a problem, the well prepared outdoorsman should have a personal water purification system to create safe drinking water.
Unsafe or inadequate water, as well as sanitation and hygiene cause approximately 3.1% of all deaths in the world. What are you doing to keep the members of your family from being part of these statistics?
