No Chlorine in Drinking Water - A blessing or Curse?
On November 13, 2008 Nyasa times carried an article titled ‘Lilongwe consuming water not chlorinated’. The article alleged that Lilongwe Water Board do not have enough funds for purchasing Chlorine to ensure safe drinking for the residents in the city. The Public Relation officer, a Mr Masauko Mngwaluko could not deny or confirm the reports.
However the iron of the issues is, while the article states that the water company had no enough funds to purchase the so called life saver, the government has given a go ahead for the construction of the water tower at Chikungu alone M1 road. This water tower is to serve the expanding areas of the city toward Nanjiri and its cost so huge more than what is required for chlorine purchase.
I find the information rather contradicting and confusing. When the water board say it has no enough funds to buy what is considered as a necessitate for safe drinking, what is it trying to mean? What has been the use of the money the residents of the city have been paying as consumption bills? What is the priority of the LWB – meeting the current need or ignoring them and adding more burden which it cannot bear?
In resource limiting situation always decisions are made to manage by deduction or opportunity cost. Is it fair that the board saw it fit above all other options available but to put the life of the residents at risk!? Was this so called unsafe water supplied to all areas equally or some areas were given special consideration?
Moreover, this brings the need of monitoring what the consumers are given. Who monitors the quality of water the water boards in Malawi are supplying to the residents? Is trust enough to be accounted and trusted in all cases? Why Lilongwe Water board, if the story is true, never disclose the situation that the resident can take other measures of treating water? Does this mean that the water company feels bigger and enjoys asymmetry of information and benefits more from the mal-practice? Consumer Association of Malawi! What are they saying over this issue? Malawi Bureau of Standards, what is they take?
On the other hand, if the story reported is true, why in the so called three weeks without safe water there have been no outbreaks of water related, borne, and carried diseases? Should we say that water from Lilongwe river which begins in the foot of Dzalanyama range is safe and does not need any more artificial treatment? Is the chlorine the board has been using really chlorine? Is it worthy using chlorine?
It is believed, as it has been stated in the Nyasa article, that the use of Chlorine is safe. The idea of Chlorination to make drinking water safe was denied in USA and elsewhere. Studies show that the use of Chlorine in drinking water facilitates the formation of carcinogenic elements which has been responsible for cancer cases. Further to that, Moseby’s medical dictionary says "Chlorine is the greatest crippler and killer of modern times. It is an insidious poison". So, is the use of chlorine necessary? Should the whine when it is not used?
Listen to what experts are saying about Chlorine and chlorination (source: Pure Earth Technologies)
"The drinking of chlorinated water has finally been officially linked to an increased incidence of colon cancer. An epidemiologist at Oak Ridge Associated Universities completed a study of colon cancer victims and non-cancer patients and concluded that the drinking of chlorinated water for 15 years or more was conducive to a high rate of colon cancer."
Health Freedom News, January/February 1987
"Long-term drinking of chlorinated water appears to increase a person's risk of developing bladder cancer as much as 80%," according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Some 45,000 Americans are diagnosed every year with bladder cancer.
St. Paul Dispatch & Pioneer Press, December 17, 1987
"Although concentrations of these carcinogens are low...it is precisely these low levels which cancer scientists believe are responsible for the majority of human cancers in the United States." Report Issued By The Environmental Defense Fund
"Chlorine itself is not believed to be the problem. Scientists suspect that the actual cause of the bladder cancers is a group of chemicals that form as result of reactions between the chlorine and natural substances and pollutants in the water." (organic matter such as leaves and twigs.)
St. Paul Dispatch & Pioneer Press, December 17, 1987
"Chlorine has so many dangers it should be banned. Putting chlorine in the water supply is like starting a time bomb. Cancer, heart trouble, premature senility, both mental and physical, are conditions attributable to chlorine treated water supplies. It is making us grow old before our time by producing symptoms of aging such as hardening of the arteries."
(Schwartz 2000 in Harrison 2000; Thornton and Halle 2000)
All the evidences given above indicates that there also more risks with drinking chlorinated water. Pure natural water is safe, but can be hardly found. In addition, it is very expensive that the majority cannot afford. Therefore I find the mistake by Lilongwe water board not to use Chlorine due to financial limitation for the past three week a blessing not a curse.
Several sources recommend the use of additional purification strategies in case where chlorine is used, just remove Chlorine and its byproducts again. Unfortunately, these are not known in Malawi, let alone people dying due to lack of knowledge.
The method to make chlorinated water safe include:
· filter it with granular activated carbon (GAC) or other suitable chemical-removing filter media, such as KDF (Harrison 2000)
· Activated carbon filters can be used to remove chlorine and its by-products.(Health Canada)
In concluding, it is prudent and fair that service providers be honest on how they are carrying out their services. Consumers should be given all information – negative and positive, that they can make informed decision. Monitoring of the service providers like, mainly those which enjoy monopoly like LWB, BWB, ESCOM should be enhanced, to ensure that the safety of the residents. The University of Malawi should be carrying out meaningful research and disseminates the results to the public to add knowledge. In not proper that every time to hear about UNIMA, it is either lecture strike or student strike. Civil society should put more effort where the lives of residents are at risk not only in politics. I thought right to safe water is a human right!!! Do CAMA and MBS still exists. It is high time they tackle their agendas objectively but also with a sophisticated approach to force out the mal-practice of the service providers. I think the investigative officer from these organizations should be tipping the reporters for news not otherwise. Ownership of the water boards should be revised. Though am not sure, safety of residents is only assured is the technocrats in the water boards are answerable to the residents not politicians. Lessons can be drawn from other countries like Netherlands and elsewhere!! When residents form board of directors not political appointees, performance of the board is improved.
When all is said and done, there is death at the tap! Non chlorinated water is a blessing not a curse. On the contrary, non chlorinated water is a scandal! Particularly in rain season, it is a rapid strategy of de-populating the cities!
References
Harrison, S. (2000). "Chlorine, http://www.bidness.com/esd/cl2facts.htm." Environmental System Distributing Vineman.
Health Canada. "Drinking Water Chlorination, http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/index-eng.php."
Pure Earth Technologies. "Health effects of Chlorine in Drinking water - http://www.pure-earth.com/chlorine.html."
Thornton, J., and Halle, M. (2000). "Chlorinated tap water linked to birth deffects." The Electronic Telegraph, London.
