Survey: Majority of population exposed to unsafe drinking water

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

The majority of the population in Pakistan is exposed to the hazards of drinking unsafe and polluted water from both surface and ground water sources.

According to newly released Pakistan Economic Survey 2014-15, as derived from the national water quality monitoring programme carried out by the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), the four major contaminants in drinking water sources of Pakistan were bacteriological (68 percent), arsenic (24 percent), nitrate (13 percent) and fluoride (5 percent).

About two million wet tons of human excreta are annually produced in the urban sector of which around 50 percent pollute water bodies. The national conservation strategy states that almost 40 percent of all disease-related deaths are connected to water borne diseases. Other sources of water pollution are industrial effluents, solid waste, hospital waste, chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Source: Pakistan Today (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Agriculture, Health Care
Tags
public health