Water Quality: Challenges, Strategies, and Solutions

Poor water quality has become a global issue amidst other problems like the growing population, climate change, and industrial and agricultural expansion. As part of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the international committee has committed to halve the proportion of people who have no access to safe water and basic sanitation and improve the lives of billions of people. The decisions that will be made in the next decade will determine the global water quality situation of tomorrow.

• Challenges and impacts. The major sources of water pollution are human settlements and industrial and agricultural activities. Water contamination is damaging ecosystems, threatening biodiversity, livelihood, and food production. It also has a direct influence on productive water use and quantity. These issues affect everyone, especially those who are near contaminated waterways and have no access to safe water and sanitation.
• Strategies to improve water quality. The four basic strategies to combat water quality issues include: pollution prevention, polluted water treatment, safe wastewater utilization, and restoration and protection of ecosystems.
• Policy interventions to realize solutions. Water quality problems can be addressed by international, national, watershed, and community interventions. Key policy interventions include: improving understanding of water quality; effective communication, education, and advocacy; improved financial and economic approaches; new and improved legal and institutional arrangements; and effective use of new technology and infrastructure.
• Efficient leadership. The MDG target of improving water quality can be realized if decision-makers provide leadership at the local, national, and international levels. The World Water Forum held in Turkey on June 2009 is a good example of how ministers and leaders can convene and take a proactive stand in preventing water pollution and improving water quality.

Source:

Policy Brief on Water Quality, UN-Water, 2011, from http://www.unwater.org/index.html.