TRAINING WORKSHOP WATER QUALITY TESTING

Transcription

1 Balochistan Partnerships for Sustainable Development TRAINING WORKSHOP WATER QUALITY TESTING INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE

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3 Report of Training Workshop on Water Quality Testing 1 BACKGROUND IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) with financial assistance from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN), is implementing a six year programme under Balochistan Partnerships for Sustainable Development (BPSD) in the six Districts of Balochistan. The overall goal of the project is to improve ecological and human well-being in Balochistan. IUCN has also been striving to build the capacity of public and private sector to address the complex environmental issues being faced by the people of Balochistan. The province faces shortage of water because of its arid climate, however, lack of management, degradation and pollution of water resources and wetlands has made it worse. Balochistan also faces several issues due to its harsh climate and rugged topography. In order to address some of the core problems related to the water sector, the BPSD programme has made significant efforts in establishing pilot projects on new and emerging technologies aimed at water conservation. Specific project interventions include recharge of depleting aquifers, microenvironmental rehabilitation of delay action dams through tree plantation, rehabilitation of drinking water schemes, promotion of income generation through fish culture, and establishing demonstration models on smart use of water for increased agricultural production. All such projects were undertaken using Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approaches and involving communities to ensure sustainability. Water quality is also a key issue and needs to be addressed at all levels. Therefore, a workshop was organised by IUCN to familiarize stakeholders with the basic techniques of water quality testing.

4 2 Report of Training Workshop on Water Quality Testing FIRST SESSION A day-long training workshop on Water Quality Testing took place on Wednesday 18 th July 2012 at Caritas Hall, Quetta. A large number of representatives from various stakeholders including, the government representatives, civil society organisations, students and community members of IUCN focused districts attended the training workshop. Water experts made presentations to share their views with the attendees. The workshop was arranged to train the participants on the usage of water testing kits and to create general awareness about the health hazards of consuming contaminated water. Simple and useful methods of water purification for domestic consumption were also taught. The training workshop comprised three sessions, including presentations by the experts, water testing kit demonstration and group work by the participants. In his welcome remarks Mr. Zabardast Khan Bangash, Programme Manager IUCN, Quetta highlighted the water related issues in Balochistan and its coastal areas. He specifically talked about the scarcity of fresh water for consumption and its misuse amongst human beings. He defined water pollution as any chemical, physical or biological change in the quality of water, which has harmful effects on any living being that drinks, uses or lives in it. He also mentioned that polluted water often has serious effects on human health. He added that adverse developmental activities are playing a major role in water pollution as people still haven t realize the worth of fresh and clean water. While discussing thermal pollution, he defined it as degradation of water quality by the processes that change ambient water temperature. He further mentioned that the main cause of thermal pollution is industries and power plants, which use water as a coolant. When the water returns from these power plants and industries to its natural environment, the change in water temperature decreases the amount of oxygen in the water, which harms the ecology inside the water body. He emphasized that environmental impact assessments (EIAs) need to be conducted prior to establishing power plants or industries to control further environmental damage. He blamed the current inefficient agricultural practices for the pollution of water. He said that water environments are most affected by agricultural pollution in the form of ammonia, pesticides, fertilizers, oil toxins and animal waste that make their way into water bodies. He said that agricultural pollution is also negatively affecting air quality as chemicals and by-products from the agricultural industry are quite harmful for the natural environment as well as people. He also spoke about the importance of mangroves, which not only serve as a carbon sink but their roots provide an ideal habitat for sheltering young fish and crabs. He talked about mangroves being a source of livelihood for the local communities, however, water pollution is harming mangroves and depriving them of this benefit. He added that water is mismanaged, particularly in Balochistan, which leads to the loss of large quantities of water since no proper storage structures are available.

5 Report of Training Workshop on Water Quality Testing 3 The first presentation was delivered by Mr. Zahoor Bazai, Director Training, University of Balochistan to provide historical background on the issue. The topic of his presentation was, Social dimensions of wastewater irrigation. In the beginning of his presentation, he reminded the participants that the city of Quetta was known as little London but is now ranked as the second most polluted city of the world. The audiences were surprised when he shared his findings on a study, according to which, the average life span in Quetta is likely to be reduced to 25 years if the pollution is not controlled. Discussing the scope of his study in detail, he talked about vegetables growing on plots irrigated by wastewater. According to a vegetable analysis report, most of these vegetables were not safe to eat, and are not in line with WHO parameters. He mentioned that Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) was a tool, which has proven helpful in this regard. He then moved to the health hazards of the consumption of vegetables irrigated by waste-water. He also mentioned that the Balochistan High Court has taken a suo-motu action in that regard. The second presentation on water disinfectant methods was conducted by Mr. Hafeezullah, Health Cluster Coordinator, World Health Organization (WHO). He shared information on water quality and emphasised on using only clean and purified water. He said that both natural and man-made contamination of water is a serious problem. He said that arsenic, fluoride and microbiological contamination from human faeces are major contributors to diarrheal diseases, which kill millions of children every year. He then discussed water quality parameters and mentioned that the purification of water for domestic use is a possible solution. He said that by adopting simple and effective techniques of water purification at home can prevent many diseases. He also stressed on using bio-sand filters on household level. He further discussed World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for drinking water, which are advisory in nature, and are based on scientific research and epidemiological findings. He also explained the proper procedure for water disinfection including the appropriate dosage of chlorine, which should be used. He further shared the process of preparing a solution for chlorination of water at household level including the exact quantities used, and how to use aqua tabs. SECOND SESSION The second session of the training workshop took place after the tea break. The first presentation of this session was made by Ms. Ziviqar, Deputy Director PCRWR. The topic of her presentation was water quality pollution, impact on human health and control. She began her talk by discussing the need for safe and clean water for the residents of the developing countries. She considered it a dilemma that 1.1 billion people in developing countries do not have access to safe drinking water, whereas, 2.4 billion are deprived of proper sanitation facilities. She also discussed water pollution and contamination issues due to the mis-management of domestic and industrial waste disposal, human faeces, pit latrines and hospital waste; discussing the water borne diseases caused by them. She also pointed out the water quality standards for safe and clean drinking water andaccurate and doable remedies to improve the purity of water.

6 4 Report of Training Workshop on Water Quality Testing After the presentations, Mr. Irfan Ali Bakhtiari, consultant IWRM IUCN Quetta and Mr. Hafeezullah demonstrated the process of water quality assessment through the portable water testing kit. They first demonstrated various parts of the water testing kit and then went on to present the accurate method to test the quality of water. THIRD SESSION The third and final session of the training comprised group work by the participants. It was held after the lunch break. In this session, the participants used the water testing kit to test the quality of the water sample they had brought from their respective areas. The groups were assisted by the water experts and the presenters at the training workshop. The participants were given ample time to get a practical experience of analysing the water quality on their own. CONCLUSION In his closing remarks, Mr. Zabardast Khan Bangash, Programme Manager IUCN, Quetta thanked all the participants for taking out the time to attend this training. He hoped that the knowledge gained by the participants will go a long way in ensuring the quality of water in the province. The training workshop ended with a certificate distribution ceremony.

7 Report of Training Workshop on Water Quality Testing 5 INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE BalochistanProgramme Office Marker Cottage Zarghoon Road, Quetta Pakistan Tel +92 (81) /51/52 Fax +92 (81) cro.pk@iucn.org