"Burst water main floods central
Manhattan"
HOW SAFE ARE OUR WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS?
13 January 1998
8The burst water main
under New York City's Fifth Avenue has put the spotlight on
the critical condition of water supply systems worldwide. The
Big Apple is not alone; many other large cities face similar
problems associated with ageing water pipes, which are a
threat to both our safety and our health.
Mr. K. Bärlund,
Director of the Environment and Human Settlements Division of
the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE)
and Finland's former Minister for the
Environment, has raised an issue that affects cities
throughout the world. "Leaking pipes, cuts in water
supply, contaminated drinking water and water-borne disease
are, unfortunately, still common, and are becoming more so,
even in the so-called developed world. The water pipes in
most European cities predate the World War II. Losses in
these old water supply systems are often ignored because they
are invisible, except when a major pipe bursts, as was the
case in New York. But we have to wake up to the fact that our
leaking pipes are wasting huge quantities of a scarce natural
resource. In the UN/ECE region as a whole, the direct cost in
terms of clean water that is unaccounted for has been
estimated at some $10 billion a year."
The amount of water
that is lost through such leakage varies from country to
country and from one area to another. In some large cities in
Albania, Romania and Norway, almost half the drinking water
that leaves the water purification plants is thought to be
wasted in this way. In most countries the national average
has been estimated at some 30 per cent. Some cities have
reported leakages of 70 to 80 per cent. Moreover, some 50 per
cent of this wasted water re-enters the sewage system and is
promptly treated again. This puts an unnecessary burden on
waste-water treatment plants and pushes up their costs.
Ageing Pipes
The major cause of
water leakage is the ageing pipe system. Even in a country
like Hungary, which has modernized its system in recent
years, more than 10 per cent is over 50 years old.
Apart from their
economic cost, ageing pipes also have a direct effect on
health. In the United Kingdom, for instance, part of the pipe
system is still made of lead. This lead contaminates tap
water to such a degree that the country is not in a position
to meet WHO water quality guidelines. Bringing its water
supply system up to scratch would cost ,8 billion ($12 billion). Leaks also
create underground ponds, where bacteria flourish around the
pipes. Whenever there is a drop in pressure in the pipes,
this polluted water enters the supply system and contaminates
drinking water. It is impossible to detect this
contamination, as all water quality control occurs at the
production level.
Our Health at Risk?
Inadequate treatment of
source waters, particularly the failure to disinfect them,
the poor quality of the supply systems, and their lack of
maintenance or renewal, have all been linked to outbreaks of
water-borne disease (shigella, hepatitis A, typhoid fever)
and the presence of enteroviruses in the water supply. In
countries in transition (mainly in south-eastern Europe),
costumers also have to endure supply cuts, sometimes for more
than 12 hours a day. These cuts further erode the water
quality in the supply system. In all, some 120 million
Europeans still do not have access to safe drinking water.
And although the consequences of poor water management are
mostly felt at the local or provincial levels, water
pollution and water shortage have had a transboundary impact
too.
To remedy this
situation, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
is joining forces with the World Health Organization, the
United Nations Environment Programme and others to cut
pollution, improve the quality of aquatic ecosystems, and
protect human health and safety. Their aim is to submit an
international instrument to address the problem of
water-related diseases for adoption at the Ministerial
Conference on Environment and Health in London in 1999. Their
first intergovernmental meeting to draw up this agreement is
scheduled to take place in Budapest from 11 to 13 February
1998.
Will the Tap Run
Dry?
The wastage of water
and the ever-increasing consumption have an enormous impact
on the environment. Eventually, they could be a source of
disputes between countries over transboundary waters. Many
cities depend heavily on water from transboundary rivers. A
number of European countries abstract at least as much
surface water as they generate. Ten receive more than half
their total water resources from neighbouring countries. Five
others, with large rivers, receive more than three quarters
of their water from river flows from upstream countries.
The need for more water
has also led to an overuse of shallow groundwater resources
and water abstraction from deep aquifers around cities. About
60 per cent of the European cities with more than 100 000
inhabitants (or a total of 140 million people) are now
supplied with water from overexploited groundwater resources.
Governments Need to
Safeguard Water Resources
Mr. Bärlund stressed
that it was high time that European cities started taking the
management of water resources seriously. They need to use
water rationally, introduce water-demand management schemes
and protect drinking-water resources against pollution and
overuse. This requires new policies that are all-embracing
and environmentally sound, and that involve the public at
large. It is increasingly urgent to assess the environmental
impact of water-related activities so as to safeguard human
health, aquatic ecosystems and the quality of transboundary
waters.
The protection of
groundwater can no longer be limited to water-production
areas. The water quality of unpolluted aquifers also needs to
be preserved. Polluted sites that threaten legally protected
aquifers and their related ecosystems should be the first
ones to be cleaned up. Aquifers also have to be restored
rather than abandoned, especially in areas where there are
few alternative water resources. Moreover, to safeguard
groundwater for the future, groundwater and soil pollution
should be prohibited, and legal action taken against those
who violate such bans.
"Policy makers need to bear in
mind that any decision on water issues should involve public
participation. We need to radically change the way we think
about water and the way we manage it in cities. This can
happen only if the public at large is informed about the need
to protect water resources and the consequences of overuse.
Every member of society needs to be made aware of these
issues. Information campaigns need to focus on the younger
generation in particular, as they are the decision makers of
tomorrow. We are all part of the problem, but we can also all
be part of the solution. If we succeed in changing our
lifestyles, we can stop the wastage of water, protect water
resources and produce less waste."
For further
information, please contact:
Rainer ENDERLEIN
Environment and Human Settlements Division
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
Palais des Nations, office 411
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Telephone: (+ 41 22) 917 23 73
Fax: (+ 41 22) 907 01 07
E-mail: [email protected]