According to World Health Organization, safe and readily available water is important for public health, whether it is used for drinking, domestic use, food production or recreational purposes. Improved water supply and sanitation, and better management of water resources, can boost countries’ economic growth and can contribute greatly to poverty reduction.
In 2010, the UN General Assembly explicitly recognized the human right to water and sanitation. Everyone has the right to sufficient, continuous, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic use.
Contaminated water and poor sanitation are linked to transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio. Absent, inadequate, or inappropriately managed water and sanitation services expose individuals to preventable health risks. When water comes from improved and more accessible sources, people spend less time and effort in physically collecting it, meaning they can be productive in other ways. It can also result in greater personal safety by reducing the need to make long or risky journeys to collect water. Better water sources also mean less expenditure on health, as people are less likely to fall ill and incur medical costs, and are better able to remain economically productive.
Barangay Bag-ongDalaguete is one of the areas where there is still no access to safe water sources that adheres to microbiological standard set by the Department of Health. 98.80% of the residents gets their water directly from the spring and 1.20% rely on Deep well as their water source. Since majority of the households gets their water directly from an untreated water source, it is imperative to emphasize the importance of water purification methods. Among the households who were interviewed, 63.40% don’t utilize any purification method. Only 17.60% boils their water before use, 17.60% do straining and no one uses chlorination or solar method.
PROPOSED SOLUTIONS
Improve Water Source
Identify the location of existing water source in all 5 purok of Barangay Bag-ongDalaguete.
Collect random samples of water for bacteriological and chemical testing.
Lobby to different barangay and local officials concerning the full operation of water reservoir.
Identification of existing barangay ordinance regarding sustainability and maintenance of safe water source.
Intersectoral Linkages
Conversion of existing unapproved water source/s to approved type of water sources.
Collaborate with municipal sanitary inspector for initial and regular testing water potability.
Sustainability
Through the assistance of the Department of Interior and Local Government with the funding they allotted for the construction of a reservoir in barangay Bag-ongDalaguete as part of the program Sagana at ligtasnatubigparasalahat “SALIN TUBIG” a provision of safe water supply is one of the basic social services that improve health and well-being by providing the people with a source of safe drinking water and thus preventing transmission of waterborne diseases. With the execution and materialization of the said project with regular monitoring and analysis of water by the sanitary inspector, we will be able to make sure of the potability and safe water source for the people of barangay Bag-ong Dalaguete.