Impact of Sewage Contamination on Drinking Water Quality in Asia

This report investigates the critical issue of sewage contamination in drinking water within Asian metropolitan cities, highlighting its detrimental effects on public health. It explores the various pathways of contamination, including raw sewage overflow, leaking sewer lines, and improper waste management practices. The report details the resulting waterborne diseases, such as diarrhea, dysentery, and typhoid, and their impact on human health, particularly in vulnerable populations. It further examines sanitation practices, waste management strategies, and potential solutions for improving water quality. The report emphasizes the importance of consistent monitoring, infrastructure development, and public awareness to mitigate the risks associated with sewage contamination and promote sustainable water management practices. The paper also highlights the need for effective waste management, including sewage waste treatment, and the potential for water quality improvement through monitoring and community initiatives. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the issue, offering insights into the challenges and potential solutions for ensuring safe and accessible drinking water in urban environments.

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Introduction
Fresh and safe water for consumption is the most challenging issue experienced in most
of the Asian metropolitan cities. Sanitation is important as it enables drinking water to be
essential for good health. To sustain life and avoid dehydration, the human body requires a
minimum intake of approximately three liters of water. The availability of constant drinking
water is a problem for inhabitants in the urban areas. Poor conditions of living and lack of
required city services such as safe sewerage and piped water has leads to serious health
conditions. This paper seeks to discuss how sewage contamination in drinking water is creating
water borne diseases impacting human health in metropolitan cities of Asian Subcontinent. The
paper will also discuss poor sanitation and ways to improve it. Waste management of sewage
waste will be discussed and how this management can be improved. Simple ways in which the
quality of water can be improved are outlined.
Sewage Contamination on Drinking Water
Sewage waste can contaminate water meant for drinking in various ways such as raw
sewage run over, application of sludge on land, sewer lines that leak, septic tanks and wastewater
that is not fully treated. Sewage matter is a web complex mixture that can therefore carry many
types of disease causing germs. Bacteria, metals, nitrates, salts and trace qualities of toxic matter
are some of the contaminants that pose a threat to drinking water. Waterborne disease can be
caused by seepage overflow of sewers into drinking water through ingestion of microorganisms
(Ahmad, Khan,Khan, Ghazi and Ali, 2012 p. 484). Sanitary sewer systems that are in transport to
sewage plants for treatment can sometimes be mixed with overflow of raw sewage stormwater in
urban areas. Excess stormwater formed after the combination of the waste from the two sewage

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systems can causethe joint system to spill over(Gupta and Nair, 2011 p. 1638). In these
happenings, the excess untreated flow can then be channeled into waterways hence resulting in
sewage contamination on water. A separate storm sewer system always collects urban runoff and
directly discharged into waterways. Although combined systems are cheaper to construct, the
stake of causing health harm is high. Some systems are however created with water diversions
so as to take in the excess heavy flow. Poor management of sewage wastewater can result in the
contamination of drinking water that is meant to be used by millions of inhabitants of the Asian
metropolitan cities.
Sewer lines leaks that carry waste matter introduces untreated sewage matter to the
environment. The waste sewage matter may contain industrial waste chemicals. If the leaking
sewer lines are deeply running in the underground, the water sourced from underground for
consumption can then be easily contaminated(Brindha, Pavelic and Sotoukee, 2019 p.24).
Chlorides, organics, trace metals, and microorganisms can be introduced to the water which can
lead to diseases and foul odors on consumption. The sewer leaks can be caused by soil
slippage,root invasion, seismic activity and loss of foundation after washing out(Khan and
Ahmad, 2012 p.20). Exclusion of hazardous waste, regular inspection of sewer lines and modern
construction and maintenance can be a few necessary preventive measures for groundwater
protection from sewer leaks.
Septic tanks are normally enclosed and mainly used for storage and processing of sewage
if sewer systems do not exist(Morató,PiresCarneiro, and Ortiz, 2011 p.188). Septic tanks treat
sewer water by decomposing bacteria. The treated material from septic tanks is often referred to
as sludge. If leach fields containing septic tanks are poorly placed then water without the

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required treatment may run into water sources. Systems that are poorly constructed may allow
untreated water to run into water meant for consumption. Failure of these systems can also result
in clogging of waste, which in turn overruns to surface water and land (Saleemi and Zafar, 2012
p.9). Tanks that are placed with high density can increase the concentration of waste water. The
wastewater may come up to land surface and water surface.
Sludge is mainly made up of biological, chemical and physical treatment of industrial and
municipal waste residues. The sludge usually consists of inorganic matter, nitrogen, bacteria, and
heavy metals. Partially treated wastewater can be used for fertilization,, irrigation, and water
supply discharge as way to discharge into waterways directly(Al-Bahry, Mahmoud, Al-
Musharafi, Al-Gharaibi,, Al-Harthy and Al-Zadjali, 2014, pp 35). However, sufficient time must
be given to the processing and turnover of this sludge to bring down contaminant levels before
introducing wastewater to a water system. There should be water movement and a lot of
vegetation to enhance wastewater degradation. The degradation process can slow down if there is
a lack of appropriate microbial activity.
Water borne diseases caused by drinking contaminated water
Health harm is high when drinking water is mixed with raw sewage waste. Waterborne
diseases are caused by pathogenic micro-organisms transmitted through water. Taking in
contaminated water leads to the transmission of water-borne diseases such as diarrhea, dysentery,
typhoid, hepatitis B and cholera among other sicknesses(Batabyal, Mookerjee and Palit,
2012p.358). Microorganisms that cause water-borne conditions are mostly intestinal parasites
which invade the circulatory system or tissues in the human body through digestive tract walls.
Other various water-borne diseases are caused by viruses(Majumdar, Singh, Pujhari, Bhat,

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Chawla and Ratho, 2013 p.823). Metazoan pathogens which belong to the family of blood flukes
are another class of waterborne disease-causing microorganisms. These pathogens are mostly
transmitted when people make direct contact with the infected water(Levantesi et al, 2012
p.587). Symptoms acquired from drinking contaminated water are primarily experienced in the
abdominal areas. These symptoms can include watery diarrhea, cramps, nausea, abdominal
discomfort, muscle aches, and fevers.
Diarrhea is the main water-borne disease accommodated with drinking contaminated
water in the Metropolitan cities in the Asian subcontinent(Shakoor, Zaidi and Hasan,
2012p.437). Diarrhea leads to reduced resistance to infections, impaired growth and
development, and nutritional deficiencies. If diarrhea gets too severe, the loss of fluids may
occur and lead to death in young children or adults who are already malnourished. The health
effects experienced after drinking contaminated water may or may not present themselves
immediately. A few factors of the person such as overall health, age and physical condition will
affect the extent of the experienced effects. The most common symptoms reported after drinking
contaminated water include gastrointestinal problems, nausea, diarrhea, stomach or intestinal
aches and cramps, dehydration and in extreme cases,death.
A number of measures may be taken to prevent diarrheal diseases. These measures
include access to safe drinking water, hand washing with soap before food preparation and after
visiting the toilet (Wang, Markland and Kniel, 2016 p.209).
Sanitation

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Sanitation can generally refer to the provision of services and facilities so that human
waste matter in sewers can be safely disposed. Sanitation can be through maintenance of
hygienic conditions through various services such as waste water disposal. The main purpose of
sanitation in the Asian metropolitan cities is to provide conducive and healthy conditions of
living. Proper sanitation of waste matter provides a barrier between human beings and waste and
therefore breaks the transmission of water borne diseases(Zaccheo, Palmaccio, Venable,
Locarnini-Sciaroni and Parisi, 2017 p.730). Collection, transport and treatment of waste matter
and the disposal of all sewage waste matter should be greatly considered to ensure that drinking
water is safe for drinking (Sharma, 2018 p.44). Education on ways of treating water at home to
the citizens of Asia is also important to achieve sanitation and prevention of waterborne diseases
Improving sanitation is a vital step towards reducing the impact of waterborne diseases.
Access to sanitation can also help create physical environments that enhance self-esteem safety
and dignity of people living in the urban areas of Asia (Friis, 2011p.119). Improving sanitation
facilities and hygiene promotion in schools can help in the health of children.
Toilets is proper way of disposing human waste matter and they can be built and used in
cities. Cities can be a pleasant and healthy place to live in if proper sanitation services can be
linked with urban farming, parks, clean energy and resource recovering and cycling are
coordinated(Coulliette,Enger, Weir and Rose, 2013 p.355). When city governments work with
neighborhood groups to come up with creative solutions, the result will be cleaner, healthier
cities. Piped clean water and sanitation facilities enhance maternal and child health in
households. Separate pipes for the conveyance of sewage should be constructed right from the

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start. This setup is especially important in tropical climates, where storm water flows in the rainy
season can be many times the dry season flow (Sidel, 2015 p.411).
Waste management
Wastewater management involves wastewater treatment, collection or disposal and reuse of
treated wastewater. Uncollected wastes on ground may result into poor sanitary environments
and can be made worse on rainy seasons(Nursiah, Thalib and Lahming, 2016 p.927). Sites that
are used for waste disposal can cause polluted water to flow to water sources and hence cause
waterborne diseases. When sewage waste is left in the open, flies and mosquitoes can breed and
hence spread diseases. Solid waste management requires using heavy expenditure and therefore
becomes a major challenge in municipality offices in Asia. Not only is it a technical factor but
also influenced strongly by environmental, social, political legal and economic factors. The
annual total waste generation increases with the rise in urbanization and population. Land for
disposal of waste is needed and it has posed as a challenge in the metropolitan cities. The rapid
growth of urban cities has led to disorganization of pipes that carry away sewage waste. The
maintenance of these pipes has become challenging since more building have come up on the
piping plans. Most of these pipes are also linked with pipes that carry drinking water in the
underground system of the Asian metropolitan cities. The quality and time that these pipes have
stayed underground has led to corrosion. The quality of drinking water therefore depends on
good condition of pipelines interconnected underground through which water runs. Some pipes
carrying drinking water through the vast distances are always leaking and cracked and hence the
water becomes contaminated(Khan, Ahmad, urRahman and Ishaque, 2012 p.332).Water thatis of

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good quality is important to the elderly and children, who are more vulnerable to water borne
diseases.
Waste management should start with the reduction of sewage waste and proper disposal
should be considered next.(Kabir, Sadiq and Tesfamariam, 2014 p.1780). Public procurement of
green products is important in order to reduce waste materials and also lowers the risk of
waterborne diseases throughout the life cycle. Strategies to put green products in play also bring
about innovation. Separation of waste matters is important and laws are put in place to regulation
in most Asian cities. Separating recyclables of most materials is done by the informal sector in
Asian countries. The facilities for material recovery lead to integrated solid waste management.
Communities are encouraged to recycle to provide a safe environment for people who pick waste
by reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills. Waste collection determines the operation of a
system that manages wastes. Several Asian countries have successfully initiated the community
collection schemes. Growth of the secondary materials industry in Asia is important because it
acts as a way to use new materials and thus improves resource security and reduces emissions.
Drinking water quality improvement
One of the best ways of making sure the quality of water is high is through consistent and
constant monitoring of drinking water supplies and sources. Before distribution of water, it is
important to make sure that it meets the quality standards for safe drinking. Adequate supply of
water is important so as to meet the demands of the total number people in a city. For example,
water in a well need to have a verified location and construction in making sure the water and the
well are protected from surface drainage and flooding. Sources of water for consumption should
be away from human activities and garbage.

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Treatment of drinking water
Water intended for drinking should undergo the right treatment so as to enhance is quality
for human health. The right type of treatment method of water depends on various factors such
as the number of people who will be served with the water, quality of the water and the source of
the water. Drinking water purposed to serve a small population does not require much treatment
and can be treated by disinfecting tablets and using purification filters. Boiling water can also
treat water by removing most pathogens. However, boiling water that contains nitrates and lead
can increase their concentration hence posing as a greater risk for poisoning and infection(Khan,
Ahmad, Rahman and Ishaque, 2012, pp 332). Chemical toxins can also be removed by water
boiling. However, boiling water can be costly in places where fuel is scarce and population is
high.
In centers where water is distributed, four methods can be used to treat drinking water.
These methods are Flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, and disinfection. Flocculation is a
process that includes removing dirt and other particles that are suspended in water. This process
is achieved by adding iron salts and aluminum to water. The salts form sticky particles in water
that attract dirt particles meant to be removed. Sedimentation is done after the particles settle in
water after the flocculation process. Filtration removes particles such as chemicals, clays,
organic matter and precipitates. Filtration purifies the water and increases its quality by
decreasing the chance of contamination after consumption. Disinfection is a popular and
advanced treatment method process for water purification. Disinfection takes place before water
is channeled to be distributed and ensures that water is free from toxins. Efficient and effective
disinfectants include chlorinates, chlorine dioxides and chlorine.

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However, not all contaminants and organisms found in drinking water are harmful if they
do not exceed safety measures created b water safety management organizations. Contaminants
should therefore be removed when necessary. Removing contaminants is costly and does not
secure increased safety.
Conclusion
To summarize, this paper discusses how sewage waste is a significant factor in the
contamination of water in the metropolitan cities in the Asian subcontinent. Most of the sewer
waste contaminates water because of lack of safe waste management programs. The poor
engineering of underground disposal pipes is also a way in which sewer waste comes into
contact with water meant for drinking. Poor sanitation hygiene when disposing of human waste
and industrial waste is a major cause of contaminated water. Contaminants in water lead to
waterborne diseases. Critical waterborne diseases on vulnerable people can lead to death. The
quality of human health deteriorates with continuous intake of low treated water. Improving
sanitation can however greatly improve the health of people in the cities by decreasing the
waterborne disease transmissions. Improvements in sewer pipes can reduce leaking and over
flooding and thence improve the environmental conditions in cities. Safe drinking water is vital
to human health and therefore the offices that are involved in running the municipal sewage
systems in metropolitan cities should improve the containment and disposal of sewer waste.

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