Prince George, B.C- Dr. Chris Opio, a professor at UNBC, has discovered there is more to the contaminated water issue in developing countries than the wells from which the water is drawn.
Dr. Opio says efforts provide reliable sources of clean drinking water are being jeopardized by unsafe storage practices. According to preliminary results of a study conducted by Opio. clean well water–after transportation and storage–becomes nearly two-and-a-half times dirtier than water drawn from a contaminated well.
(at right, Dr. Opio – in blue- helps pump water from new well in Uganda, photo courtesy UNBC)
“People are using clay pots and plastic jerry cans that are so dirty that they would ruin even the cleanest water,” says Dr. Opio, a professor of Ecosystem Science and Management. “This is a threat to the efforts of many NGOs and charities that dig wells in these countries.”
Dr. Opio began examining stored water for E-coli, bacteria, and dioxins in Uganda in July 2011. “Our tests show that clean water from donated wells is ruined due to high rates of E-coli and faecal coliforms found first in the unclean jerry cans that are used for water transportation. The water is tainted even more during storage in unwashed clay pots,” says Dr. Opio, who grew up in Uganda. “We’re also going to be testing samples of the water for Bispheno-A (BPA) at UNBC’s labs in the coming months.” In 2010, Canada was the first country to declare BPA a toxic chemical.
Dr. Opio established a charity—the Northern Uganda Development Foundation (NUDF)—in 2007 with UNBC employee Tony Donovan, in part to dig wells and provide fresh, clean drinking water for Ugandans. To date, the NUDF has dug 42 wells, which provide water to more than 50,000 people in that country.
"We know our wells produce good water because we’ve tested them," says Dr. Opio, "However, now we’ve discovered that it’s the storage that is ruining the water. This results in terrible disease and parasitism."
Dr. Opio says water with E-coli and faecal coliform can be made safe with boiling. “People have been storing water in clay pots in Africa for thousands of years and—with thorough cleaning—it’s a good, safe method. This research indicates that NGOs and governments in developing countries need to go further than just building wells. We must also educate people about proper storage and cleaning methods.”
Comments
Put Flouride in the water.
Wow what a discovery, must be good for a few taxpayer funded trips to exotic lands.
seamutt, do your research on Dr. Chris Opion before making a ridiculous statement. Maybe you should sit down with him and let him tell you about his life in Uganda.
C’mon people, don’t just post something stupid just for the sake of posting.
Ya right.
Comments for this article are closed.