Water is essential for life. Without water there would be no life. 71% of the earth’s surface is covered by water only a tiny fraction of this water is available to us as fresh water. About 97% of the total water available on earth is found in oceans and is too salty for drinking and irrigation. The remaining 3% is fresh water. Of this 2.997% is locked in ice caps or glaciers. Thus only 0.003% of the earth’s total volume of water is easily available to us as soil moisture, ground water, water vapour and water in lakes, streams, rivers and wetlands.
World Water week 2022 will be held on the theme ‘Seeing the Unseen: The value of water,” and is built on a global need to not only see, but understand, and more importantly- value water.
Water that is found in streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands and artificial reservoirs is called surface water. Water that percolates into the ground and fills the pores in soil and rock is called ground water. Porous water- saturated layers of sand, gravel or bedrock through which ground water flows are called aquifers. Most aquifers are replenished naturally by rainfall that percolates downward through the soil and rock. This process is called natural recharge. If the withdrawal rate of an aquifer exceeds its natural recharge rate, the water table is lowered. Any pollutant that is discharged onto the land above is also polluted into the aquifer and pollutes the groundwater resulting in polluted water in the nearby wells. When the quality or composition of water changes directly or indirectly as a result of man’s activities such that it becomes unfit for any purpose it is said to be polluted. Any physical, biological or chemical change in water quality that adversely affects living organisms or makes water unsuitable for certain use is referred as water pollution. We usually take water as granted for its purity, but we must ensure the quality of water. Pollution of water originates from human activities. Through different paths, pollution reaches surface or ground water. Easily identified source or place of pollutants enter the water source. Non point sources of pollution are those where a source of pollution cannot be easily identified, for example agricultural runoff, acid rain, storm water drainage etc. there are several classes of common water pollutants. These are disease causing agents which include bacteria, viruses, protozoa and parasitic worms that enter water from domestic sewage and untreated human and animal wastes causing different types of water born disease. Human excreta contain bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Streptococcus faecalis which cause gastrointestinal diseases.
Kerala Academy of Pharmacy considers the pollution of water and other natural resources as a major threat to the society and the world. Our institution always follows the green protocol and adopted green campus notion for conserving and reducing the pollution of the nature. Kerala Academy of Pharmacy give prior importance to the World Water Week and conducts awareness programmes to safeguard the quality of the water resources. Some control measure include recycling of water must be encouraged, industrial water must me treated before discharge, proper use of water in schools and colleges.
