Opinion Sur Joven

I consider myself a lucky person: the water running out of my faucet is transparent, almost tasteless, and I’ve never smelled it, but I’d say it doesn’t have any particular odor… I’d almost dare to confirm: The water at home complies with the three requirements! It’s colorless, odorless and tasteless, just as we were taught at school.

Though, apparently, this isn’t enough for my mom. A couple days ago a man came to our door: “Good morning, madam, would you like to buy a purifier?” I’m sure you’ve seen one of them. It’s that little gadget you install in your faucets which –as firmly asserted by the man- “absorbs chemical and bacteriological impurities (pesticides, heavy metals, chlorine, bacteria and viruses), as well as smelly substances and unpleasant odors”.

Some people have these little gadgets installed in their showers, and they won’t take a shower unless their water is ultra-purified. Some people won’t drink water unless it’s mineral, and some people even make hydrotherapy to moisturize their skin. There’s nothing wrong about these things. But there are also people –a lot of people- who have no access to such an essential and basic service for our lives. Two oxygen atoms, one hydrogen atom… H2O, the most famous chemical formula. What lies behind the water issue? Everything you always wanted to know –or, actually, everything you never asked yourself before- and is worth to know about this issue.

What requirements must water comply with to be considered potable? The Argentine National Food Code states: "Under the denominations Public Supply Potable Water and Household Use Potable Water, water is deemed to be fit for consumption and domestic use: it shall not contain foreign substances or bodies of biological, organic, inorganic or radioactive origin in levels that may become a health hazard. It shall present a pleasant taste and be virtually colorless, odorless, limpid and transparent”. Subsequently, there is a list of physical, chemical and microbiologic characteristics it must comply with.

Although our Constitution and several national and provincial laws acknowledge and regulate the right to have drinking water, the latter has been infringed innumerable times.

International laws largely provide some guarantees as well. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights –ratified by 145 countries, including Argentina- indicates that access to water is a fundamental human right.

Furthermore, among other examples, section 24 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child says the states must assure the access to potable water to all children. But you know the famous proverb, “it is easier said than done…”

Sad portraits of day-to-day life

Entire neighborhoods without access to drinking water or minimum services of sanitation, people who are bound to consume contaminated water, etc. Water is infected with very dangerous bacteria, for example, fecal coliforms, which are often found when analyzing water in many areas. Let’s not think about the famous Ganges river in India, where people bathe in spite of the floating corpses. This is happening right here, very close to our homes. The case of the Villa 31 slums in Retiro, a neighborhood in the northern area of the city of Buenos Aires, some blocks away from the Obelisk, is a clear example.

Where does the water we consume come from?

It is extracted from superficial sources such as rivers, marshes and reservoirs, and from underground aquifers for which very deep extraction wells are built. Then it is treated by sanitation service companies which make it fit for human consumption.

Wetlands are some of the most productive ecosystems in the world. They are sources of biodiversity providing water and the primary production innumerable species of plants and animals depend on to survive.

It is often said that mountains are the “water deposits” of nature because, due to their height and their shapes, they intercept the air circulating over the planet and the latter moves upwards, to the heights where it condensates and forms clouds which produce rain and snow. Every day, one out of two people in the world consumes water from the mountains. As a citizen from Mendoza (a province in the west of Argentina, right next to the Andes), I’m clearly included in this category, and during the winters with little snow we know beforehand the precious liquid will be scarce.

The water footprint...

That’s the name of a project consisting in summing the real use of water within a country by using a calculator, or its “water footprint”, equivalent to the total sum of the household use and the country’s virtual water import, minus its virtual water export.

There are many uses of this liquid resource we usually don’t have in mind: Here are some examples:

The industrial use is one of the most important and demanding ones. Did you know that producing one cup of coffee requires 140 liters of water? And that 550 liters is the required amount of water to produce the necessary amount of flour for one portion of bread (400 grams)? Producing 1 liter of milk requires 1,000 liters of water. The production of 1 kilo of:
- rice requires 3,000 liters of water
- corn requires 900 liters of water
- wheat requires 1,350 liters of water
- meat requires 16,000 liters of water

And one detail: golf tourism has a huge impact on water extraction. An eighteen-hole golf course may consume more than 2.3 million liters a day.

The world suffers the lack of water

There are statements on human rights in the United Nations mentioning the right to life (section 3). Therefore, water is a universal right, for without it life isn’t possible. We can live up to 40 days without food, but only 5 without water.

•54% of African population has no access to drinking water.
•2,600 million people have no connections to sewers.
•1,100 million people have no access to drinking water.
•Only 2% of the entire world’s water is fresh, and less than a half of it is fit for human consumption (UN). [1]

Some people think the current water crisis is due to the fact that there isn’t enough for the whole world. This idea has been categorically rejected by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and they state the problem has a rather awkward origin for the political elites of the world: poverty and inequality. [2]

On the other hand, the global action plan of the Human Development Report estimates we need 10 billion dollars a year to reach the development aims of the millennium and significantly improve the access to clean water and sanitation services for every person in the planet. Although 10 billion dollars sound like a lot of money, governments all over the world spend that sum in military equipments... every 8 days! Imagine the results if we used a tiny percentage of the military expenses to provide sanitation services and clean water for everyone.

This subject definitely gives a lot to talk about. It’s important to mention the political consequences of a world with pure water for a few people and contaminated water for the majority. The service cost will be more higher every time, and inequalities will irremediably become deeper within societies. The most precious natural resource for human life can’t be bound to market laws as if it were a luxury good.

Climate change proves the critical situation will continue to exist in the long term. In some places of the planet, like Australia or Spain, droughts are more often every time and the fear of water scarcity increases. This situation depicts a bleak picture for the future. Nevertheless, awareness is the key. If this issue gets to be included in politicians’ agendas –just like oil-, half the problem will be solved. But, then again, the solution lies in our capability to insist and resist.