When next you drink water, check the source!
Water is a Good Servant but a Bad Master. When I was a child, my Father told me of some essentials of life that could be classified as “Good Servants, or Bad Master”. One of them is Water.
According to Science:
- In the hierarchy of needs of the human body, Water follows Air, and
- Up to 60% of the human adult body is water
Water is therefore truly essential to life – a Good Servant.
Why then is there such disregard for its quality, which can either cure or kill, as a flowing river of health or a flowing vector of diseases?
The issue of irresponsible quarrying remains a threat to water quality. First, the loss of forests affects the quantity of rainfall and leads to scarcity of water. Then, the debris from the excavation compounds the problem by blocking and polluting the nearby water sources such as rivers and springs. We are then faced with diseases such as gastro enteritis.
Abandoned pools of stagnant water represent another preventable external threat to human life caused by irresponsible quarrying. This phenomenon can create nurseries for vectors such as mosquitoes. An epidemic of malaria or dengue fever can hurt our villagers and the country as a whole. The Trinidad Guardian last month detailed a story of a Freeport man who lost his life by drowning in a pool of water left behind by irresponsible quarrying. That pool moved from a hazard to a disaster, and steps should be taken to avoid further loss of life.
Add to that our disposal of waste from food, furniture, clothing, dead animals, animal entrails, infant to adult pampers, dumped in a river or drain near to our communities. Where does this polluted water flow? Does it end up in our reservoirs and enter the water supply to our homes? If not properly treated, consumption of this water will lead to the spread of communicable and non-communicable diseases, chronic illness and death. Here, Water is a Bad Master. The change of maintaining Water in its status of Good Servant lies in your hands; in the hands of other citizens! Be part of the Change!
The next time you take a drink of water, think of the source.
