KNOWN AS the ‘Land of Many Waters’, it is an undisputed fact that Guyana has many rivers. However, while we are blessed with such an abundance of this resource, we must be careful not to take it for granted.

Instead, we need to use it with care; we need to ensure that our waterways are protected from any kind of pollution, especially since water plays such an integral role in our lives, particularly with regards to our health.

What Is Water Pollution?
Any substance that enters trenches, canals, creeks, or rivers, and has a harmful effect on the living things found in it, the water is polluted. Substances that cause pollution are called pollutants.

In Guyana, our pollutants come from the factories, industries, businesses, farms and households etc. that release wastewater into our canals, trenches and rivers.

Water pollutants can also seep underground and pollute the water stored there.

Why do we need to control water pollution?

Water is very important in performing some functions we might not be aware of, including:
•    Maintaining healthy skin – drinking water moisturizes your skin from the inside out. Water is essential to maintaining elasticity and helps prevent dryness.
•    Flushing toxins – adequate water intake helps to flush out toxins, reducing the burden on your kidneys and liver.
•    Cushion and lubricate your joints and muscles – water makes up a large part of the fluid that lubricates and cushions your joints and muscles. Drinking water before, during, and after exercise can also help reduce muscle cramping and premature fatigue.
•    Stay regular – water helps prevent constipation by adding fluid to the colon and bulk to stools, making bowel movements softer and easier to pass.
•    Regulating your body temperature – perspiration is your body’s natural mechanism to control body temperature. And to sweat, you need plenty of water.
•    Get well – the traditional prescription to “drink plenty of fluids” when you’re sick still holds strong. Water can help control a fever, replace lost fluids, and thin out mucus.
We also use water every day to bathe, brush our teeth, cook, clean, wash dishes and perform other household chores. In general, water is very important when it comes to our hygiene.

When our water supply becomes contaminated, this will affect our health. This is so because polluted water contains germs which can cause disease. If we should use polluted water to bathe, for example, this can lead to skin diseases. Even more dreadful, if we should consume polluted water, we will more likely be affected by diseases such as diarrhea, cholera etc. While we might not think of this, pollutants can be toxic or harmful in other ways to aquatic animals and plants leading to problems such as the reduction of fish stocks. In addition, eating fishes from polluted water can also have serious impacts on our health. Additionally, for all the functions laid out above, clean water is needed, therefore, by using contaminated water our body wouldn’t be able to function effectively.

Therefore, in order for us to live healthy lives, we need to realize the important role that water plays and be smart in our use and treatment of water.

Kids Activity: Purify Your Water Supply
What you will need:
•    one cup of muddy water
•    flowerpot
•    metal stand for flowerpot, to allow drainage
•    clean glass jar
•    two cups of sand
•    two cups of gravel
•    absorbent paper (such as paper towel or blotting paper).

Follow the steps below to construct a water filter for cleaning muddy water to make it suitable for washing.

1.    Line the flowerpot with absorbent paper so that it comes up the sides of the pot.
2.    Pour in the gravel.
3.    Pour in the sand.
4.    Place the flowerpot in the metal stand.
5.    Place the jar under the drainage hole of the flowerpot.
6.    Stir your cup of muddy water and slowly pour this into the middle of the flowerpot.
7.    Observe the water that drains from the flowerpot into the jar.

You can share ideas and questions by sending letters to: “Our Earth, Our Environment”, C/o EIT Division, Environmental Protection Agency, Ganges Street, Sophia, GEORGETOWN or email eit.epaguyana@gmail.com.