Image courtesy of Janneke Schaap from the University of Minnesota
Nearly one fifth of the world lacks access to clean drinking water.[1] Water pollution is said to be one of the leading causes of disease and illness in the world.[2] The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that patients with water-related illnesses presently occupy half of the world’s hospital beds[3] and 3.5 million people die every year from diseases caused by sewage pollution.[4] Experts claim that access to clean water and proper sanitation are critical for poverty reduction.[5]
What we are doing with our waste affects our groundwater. We have polluted our surface freshwater sources by agricultural runoff, human activities, and industry.[6] In the U.S. alone, 20% of rivers were studied and 45% were found to be impaired or not able to support one or more of their designated uses (e.g., fishing, recreation, wildlife protection). Of the 37% of lakes surveyed, 47% percent were found to be impaired.[7] The top three causes of impairment were found to be: sedimentation or siltation, pathogens, and habitat alterations with the top sources of impairment coming from agricultural activities, hydrological modifications and unknown sources. Pollution from agriculture is reportedly the largest diffuse source of water pollution.[8]
The top contaminants of drinking water include:
- turbidity: silt and other fine particles
- bacterial or organic: sewage, disease organisms, viral pathogens, etc.
- metallic pollutants: most commonly aluminum, chromium, cadmium, lead, mercury
- biocides: Aldrin, Dieldrin, dioxin, PCB, etc.
- acids
Image courtesy of the sietch.org
Nearly 80% of the discarded waste in the U.S is organic material comprised of yard trimmings, food scraps, wood waste, and paper and paperboard products. The same is true for developing countries with one half to two thirds of waste being organic material.[11] When these materials are disposed of in landfills they generate methane, which is 20 to 30 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas.[12] In fact, U.S. landfills are “among the single greatest contributors of global methane emissions.”[13] The next 4 main constituents of landfills include: plastics (12.1%); metals (8.2%); rubber, leather and textiles (7.6%); and glass (5.3%).[14]
No modern landfill lining lasts longer than 30 years which means that landfill leakage is inevitable, and 30 years of waste liquid will one day be free to seep into groundwater, further polluting our fresh water resources. Belize produces 200,000 tons/year of solid waste, and has insufficient resources to deal with this waste.[15] None of the landfills currently in use are properly sealed to prevent leaching into the groundwater and solid wastes are regularly burned, which creates more environmental, and human health issues to deal with.
[1] West, Larry, “World Water Day: A Billion People Worldwide Lack Safe Drinking Water,” available at: http://environment.about.com/od/environmentalevents/a/waterdayqa.htm
[2] Wikipedia, Water pollution
[3] Sterritt, Robert M., Microbiology for Environmental and Public Health Engineers, E. & F. N. Spon Ltd., 1998, p. 59-60.
[4] “Introduction: understanding sewage water,” http://www.wastewatergardens.com/1en_overview01.html
[5] Wateraid.com, “Poverty reduction strategy papers,” http://dev.wateraid.org/international/what_we_do/policy_and_research/poverty_reduction_strategy_papers/default.asp
[6] National Water Quality Inventory: Report to Congress, 2002 Reporting Cycle. EPA, 2002.
[7] Id.
[8] Brown, Lester, Christopher Flavin, Hilary French, “State of the World,” New York: W. W. Norton and Co., 1998, p. 100
[9] CIA World Factbook, September 6, 2007
[10] Brotherton, Bob, “Water treatment expert of World Bank slams obsolete waste water treatment in Belize as dangerous and obsolete,” http://belizenewsroundup.blogspot.com/2005/11/water-treatment-expert-of-world-bank.html
[11] Brown, Lester, Christopher Flavin, Hilary French, “State of the World,” New York: W. W. Norton and Co., 1998, p. 102
[12] Jenkins, Joseph. The Humanure Handbook : A Guide to Composting Human Manure. Danbury: Joseph Jenkins Incorporated, 2005. p. 13
[13] Id.
[14] “Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2007,” Environmental Protection Agency, available at: http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/municipal/msw99.htm
[15] Young, Colin, “Belize’s Ecosystems: Threats and Challenges to Conservation in Belize,” available at: http://tropicalconservationscience.mongabay.com/content/v1/08-03-03-Young.htm (accessed March 2008)
