Press Releases 1998

[Index]

"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."

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