Lack of clean and safe drinking water

THE PROBLEM

The World Health Organization emphasizes that “water safety and quality are fundamental to
human development and well-being.” Water is a limited resource yet a fixed commodity (George, 2008);
people sharing this important supply must be able to compromise. One cannot afford to sacrifice the
necessity for water for the sake of other perceived needs, or even for the sake of others – eventually, one
will almost always demand for an individual access to water. Thus, in a community setup such as
Barangay Sto. Niño, the community members should be able to ensure that everyone gets access to water
sources that are deemed suitable for drinking. Potentially harmful sources of water, especially
contaminated ones and those which have not undergone any form of sterilization technique cause adverse
effects to the health of the individual, which in turn may directly or indirectly affect the family and the
community as a whole. This sums up the pressing concern of a potable water source and its gravity on a
wider scope.

Essentially, the lack of clean and safe drinking water can be described as either a problem of
unavailability or inaccessibility. As discussed, water – especially drinking water – is an indispensable
necessity of human living. For people accustomed to what their living conditions have offered them,
certainly, finding a source of drinking water is inevitable. The challenge, however, is the question of
whether or not the source is actually safe and potable, even with the minimum requirements of water
safety standards. With one perspective, unavailability of clean and safe drinking water sources translates
to the actual absence of the sources that pass the set standards. The available sources of drinking water are
unsafe and doubtful, at best. This may be rooted upon the problem of having little to no methods of water
sterilization, or that such water sources are contaminated with harmful substances and pollutants, making
safe water unavailable. On the other hand, the problem of inaccessibility, from its wording alone,
describes a stemming from the problem of access. Community people are not able to utilize the drinking
water sources that have already been approved as clean and safe. This may be due to the considerable
distance from the household to the water source, which entails further problems for the community –
traveling to the water source can actually be a tedious routine to maintain where other important activities
of the household could have actually been done. For some, accessing acceptable sources of drinking water
requires financial expenditures, and thus will consume a significant portion of the family budget. Given
the circumstances and a kind of mindset focused on efficiency and survival, community people have the
tendency to settle with what is easily acquired – sources of drinking water that once again are doubtful, at
best.
 For Barangay Sto. Niño, the lack of clean and safe water is perceived by the people to be a
pressing concern. Consequently, the first problem that needs to be addressed is the water sources. Primary
data revealed that 9% of the households are utilizing unapproved types of water facilities, which include
unprotected wells (5%), unprotected springs (3%) and surface water (1%). 45% of the households are
utilizing a level I approved water supply facilities and include protected dug wells (12%), protected
springs (13%), and hand pumps (20%). 10% are utilizing a level III approved water supply facility which
include piped water into yard (9%) and piped water into dwelling (1%). 36% of the households however
purchase mineral water from water refilling stations. Although such data implies good water sources,
identification still needs to be done in terms of whether or not the water supplied by the facilities is
maintained to be safe and potable. Another issue that the community people have pointed out is the need
to extend the services delivered by the barangay water supply system, which they have verbalized to only
reach a limited number of households.

Second thing to point out is the lack of water purification methods. 45% of the households utilize
water purification methods such as boiling, chlorination and straining. Meanwhile, 26% of the households
are not practicing water purification methods and immediately consume and utilize the water supplied by
their sources. As mentioned, although these water sources are approved types of supply facilities,
determination of their actual potability is necessary. The proportion needs to be increased significantly.

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS

The proposed solutions are directed at addressing the two problems: the water supply facilities as
well as the methods of water purification. Conversion of unapproved water supply facilities to approved
ones will greatly contribute to achieving the goal of increasing access of households to clean and safe
water. On the other hand, enabling the community people to utilize water purification methods puts a
considerable level of accountability for them to take responsibility for their water supply, and therefore
their own health.

To accomplish everything, baseline data and resources must be established, which translate to the
review of existing local policies and regulations on water sanitation, as well as the identification of the
key players or stakeholders responsible for ensuring water safety. This instills cooperation and
participation from the community residents, and instigates leadership among the people themselves. A
core group, which must be adequately represented by each purok, and overseen by a barangay kagawad is
essential in mobilizing community residents. Water supply must be evaluated for safety and potability,
and thus water analysis must be initiated, which is possible with coordination with the Rural Health Unit
and local government agencies. A municipal sanitary inspector may be sent in order to accomplish water
sampling and testing. Suggested further is the mapping of the location of the water sources in order to
localize the issues and concerns, see which areas of the barangay need assistance and which ones need to
be improved in terms of their water sources. Upon identification, coordination and assistance from local
government agencies is necessary in strategic planning of the conversion of unapproved water supply
facilities to approved ones. Regular monitoring of these approved water facilities will be done and
spearheaded by the core group in ensuring that these will remain protected from surface water or
contamination. Extension of services of the centralized barangay water delivery system will be planned
out for feasibility and the resources needed.

Health education will also be utilized for the community residents in order to address water
purification methods. They will be educated with the use of lectures and presentations on water sanitation
and hygiene, especially young children who attend formal schooling. Training and workshop on water
purification methods will also be crucial, with demonstration and return demonstration for validity and
evaluation of learning. Information, education and communication materials, in the form of posters and
pamphlets are planned to be utilized. Monitoring of these practices will be done by the core group as well
to ensure sustainability of the projects.