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Congratulations to Kuwait and all its residents for bagging the first place in the Arab world in terms of the high quality of drinking water. Nothing is more important to any human than knowing that the water he consumes is safe. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it has placed Kuwait as the top Arab country in the quality of its drinking water and treated wastewater, followed by Bahrain, Jordan, Tunisia, Oman, Morocco and Lebanon, according to WHO standards.
The undersecretary of the ministry of electricity and water said in a press statement that Kuwait's acquisition of this classification is important for Arab countries because it reflects the efforts of all engineers and technicians who are working at water distillation stations and chemical laboratories to achieve the best standards in the quality of water through accurate and continuous tests.
Kuwait is a dry country with poor water resources, while per capita consumption of water here is the highest globally. The cost of electricity and water production is high, with consumption of about 350,000 barrels of oil per day for this purpose. The cost of producing one kilowatt of electricity costs the state about 28 fils, but is sold to the consumer for only 2 fils.
The undersecretary also added WHO is continuously monitoring and evaluating the quality of freshwater in countries around the world and its suitability for human use in accordance with the requirements of the environmental and public health committees in terms of physical and chemical aspects to ensure their conformity with the standards that are set for safe drinking water.
It is a great achievement indeed, because freshwater is a human right that should not be disputed. In fact, water is at the heart of sustainable development and is essential for socioeconomic development, energy, food production and human survival. As the world's population increases, there is a growing need to maintain and preserve water resources to enable communities to obtain adequate water.
But water cannot be viewed in isolation from sanitation. Together, they are vital to reducing the global burden of diseases, as well as their role in improving health, education and economic productivity of the population. I believe that corrupt economies, war, civil conflicts and poor infrastructure lead millions of people, especially children, to death every year from diseases associated with insufficient water supplies. Some studies have estimated that 783 million people do not have access to clean water. This is a large number.
The United Nations General Assembly recently approved the right of a human to adequate water for personal and domestic use (50 to 100 liters per person per day), provided that the water is safe, affordable and available in time and place. Every year, the world celebrates World Water Day on March 22. The International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development will continue its work from the International Water Day in 2018 until 2028. The aim of this global campaign is to urge accelerated efforts to address all challenges related to water, including access to safe water and sanitation, increased pressure on water resources and increased risk of drought and floods.
I believe that the ability of Kuwait to achieve an excellent rank in water quality should not stop efforts to rationalize water consumption. Production of freshwater in Kuwait uses more than 500 million imperial gallons per day, so wastage of water must stop, and all government agencies must act to achieve rationalization of consumption through ongoing awareness campaigns and punishment of those who waste water .
By Muna Al-Fuzai
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