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Abstract
Australia is one of the countries which are affected by the problem of water scarcity. Domestic and industrial sectors in the country rely majorly on rainwater. Water management, therefore, becomes very important as a way of ensuring sustainability in the consumption of this critical resource. The research revealed that Australians are yet to find ways of harvesting and cleaning stormwater for future use. The chief reason for this is that rainwater has in its impurities that may cause some illnesses if it is consumed without proper treatment. Diseases such as cholera and dysentery are commonly caused by the consumption of contaminated water. Managing water quality using modern technologies Low Impact Development and Water Sensitive Urban Design is very important because, through it, the government will find it easy to collect stormwater, clean it, and channel it to the storage facilities for domestic and industrial use.
Introduction
Water is one of the most critical resources that support the sustainability of life and the development of a country’s economy. The issue of water availability in Australia has been of great concern to the leaders in this country. According to Daniell (22), Australia largely depends on precipitation- rainwater and snow- as the main sources of clean water, given that it is an island. Traditionally, people designed ways of trapping clean rainwater for primary use. Through a public-private partnership, the Australian urban centers have developed effective ways of collecting and storing rainwater for use at home and in the industrial sector. The overreliance on rainwater has had its consequences that the stakeholders will have to deal with to ensure that water remains available for the public. The first problem is the prolonged droughts that have been witnessed in the recent past. Issues related to climate change have not spared this country. The regular patterns of rain that were seen before are no longer common.
In many cases, the amount of rainfall is hardly enough to meet domestic and industrial use. This has brought about the problem of scarcity of clean water. This problem has been worsened by the increasing population, especially in major cities such as Sydney and Melbourne. The research by Pigram (51) noted that Australia is one of the countries receiving a very high number of immigrants from developing countries. The increasing population is exerting more pressure on the existing resources such as water.
A report by Jiménez and Asano (83) observed that Australia is yet to come up with proper ways of harvesting rainwater, especially when the amount of rainwater is more than expected. Climate change has brought about unique rain patterns where it takes long before receiving rains, and when it rains, it comes in excess amounts. Instead of being a blessing, such stormwater leads to massive destruction of property and loss of lives in the country because there are no systems put in place to harness it in a way that it can be stored for future use. The society rarely uses rainwater because of the contaminations in it. Such contaminated water cannot be used for domestic purposes because of the related illnesses that it may bring, such as cholera or dysentery. For this reason, this water is always left to flow away despite the existing water problem in the country.
It is essential to find ways of harvesting stormwater and clean it so that it may be used for domestic and industrial purposes. The primary issue that has made it impossible for society to collect this water is the impurities in it. The runoff water collects any dirt and chemicals that may be on the surface. Addressing quality issues of runoff water is the major solution to solving the problem of water scarcity in this country. It is at this stage that an environmental engineer becomes very important to society. The role of an environmental engineer, among other duties, is to help in solving water problems by coming up with effective ways of treating contaminated water for domestic and industrial use. The paper will focus on Australian water needs, illnesses related to consumption of contaminated water, how stormwater can be collected and treated using some of the modern technologies such as Low Impact Development and Water Sensitive Urban Design, and the role of an environmental engineer in these processes.
Water-Related Illnesses
According to Hussey and Dovers (54), there are several water-related problems, some of which may lead to death. Diarrhea is one of the most common water-related diseases that are estimated to claim over 1.8 million lives every year. It is caused by bacteria, viruses, and protozoan, which are commonly found in contaminated water. The pathogen enters the body through the mouth in most of the cases. Children are the hardest hit by this disease because they place anything they touch into their mouths. Cholera is another common disease that is easily spread through contaminated water. This bacterial infection always affects the intestinal tract. Cholera is known to spread very quickly in an environment where hygiene is compromised. It can easily be carried in water and transferred from the host to a healthy person. A report by Pigram (88) shows that over 250,000 cases of cholera were reported globally in 2001.
Typhoid is an infectious disease that affects over 12 million people globally every year (Crase 76). The bacterium that is responsible for causing this disease is easily transferred to a healthy person when one takes contaminated water or food. Typhoid can cause severe headaches, loss of appetite, and nausea if it is not arrested in time. It is recommended that one should seek medication at the early stages before the disease can advance to a critical step. Dysentery is another dreadful disease that is easily spread through contaminated water. It is majorly caused by bacteria commonly found in contaminated water. The condition is highly contagious, especially in environments where hygiene is compromised. Other common water-related illnesses include guinea worm disease, intestinal worms, and trachoma. As Smakhtin (112) suggests, the best way of managing these diseases is to avoid contaminated water or food.
Recommendations for further research
Based on the findings from this study, the researchers are making the following recommendations:
- Future studies should find ways through which the public can be actively involved in water management issues.
- Future scholars should determine why there is a lack of proper coordination between the local and national governments when it comes to the management of stormwater.
- It will also be necessary for future studies to investigate the effectiveness of some of the emerging technologies for water management, especially the Low Impact Development and Water Sensitive Urban Design.
Works Cited
Crase, Lin. Water Policy in Australia: The Impact of Change and Uncertainty. Melbourne: McMillan, 2009. Print.
Daniell, Katherine. Co-Engineering and Participatory Water Management: Organizational Challenges. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014. Print.
Hussey, Karen and Stephen Dovers. Managing Water for Australia: The Social and Institutional Challenges. Melbourne: CSIRO Publishing, 2011. Print.
Jiménez, Cisneros, and Takashi Asano. Water Reuse: An International Survey of Current Practice, Issues and Needs. London: IWA Publishers, 2009. Print.
Pigram, John. Australia’s Water Resources: From Use to Management. Melbourne: CSIRO Publishing, 2010. Print.
Smakhtin, Vincent. Environmental Water Needs and Impacts of Irrigated Agriculture in River Basins: A Framework for a New Research Program. Colombo: International Water Management Institute, 2012. Print.
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