How safe is our drinking water?
This is what the Philippine Statistics Authority would like to find out as they conduct a nationwide survey this month on Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) and Water Quality Testing (WQT) in selected sample households in Aklan.
The WaSH questions, which are integrated in the 2017 Annual Poverty Indicator Survey main questionnaire, intends to respond to some of the data requirements of the Sustainable Development Goal 6 - Ensure access to water and sanitation for all.
Meanwhile, the WQT Module aims to provide a nationally-representative assessment of the quality of water that people drink in their homes and the quality of water from their drinking water sources.
According to Provincial Statistics Officer Antonet Catubuan, around 20 percent of the APIS 2017 sample households or about 2,000 households nationwide are randomly selected for WQT (E. coli testing). Of that number, 18 households are located in Aklan.
E. coli is a fecal indicator bacteria that is likely to be present when feces or raw sewage has entered the water supply.
The presence of E. coli in drinking water does not necessarily mean that the person drinking will become sick, but it indicates that over time the household is at a higher risk for waterborne diseases.
Contamination of water sources by E.coli is through leaks in latrine pits and septic tanks of latrines contaminating groundwater, contaminated surface water entering wells, leaks in piped systems, and animals using the same source.
Likewise, contamination can also be obtained, even if the source provides safe drinking water, by touching the water during collection, collecting water from the source in dirty containers, storing the water at home in open/dirty containers, and touching the water at home with dirty utensils or hands.
That is why, according to PSO Catubuan, the survey is very important to determine the number of households with access to safe drinking water and will provide data that will address problem on the quality of our drinking water.
The PSA urged respondents to cooperate in this survey by giving truthful responses to interviewers.
The WQT Module is implemented in cooperation with the Department of Health (DOH) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
This is what the Philippine Statistics Authority would like to find out as they conduct a nationwide survey this month on Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) and Water Quality Testing (WQT) in selected sample households in Aklan.
The WaSH questions, which are integrated in the 2017 Annual Poverty Indicator Survey main questionnaire, intends to respond to some of the data requirements of the Sustainable Development Goal 6 - Ensure access to water and sanitation for all.
Meanwhile, the WQT Module aims to provide a nationally-representative assessment of the quality of water that people drink in their homes and the quality of water from their drinking water sources.
According to Provincial Statistics Officer Antonet Catubuan, around 20 percent of the APIS 2017 sample households or about 2,000 households nationwide are randomly selected for WQT (E. coli testing). Of that number, 18 households are located in Aklan.
E. coli is a fecal indicator bacteria that is likely to be present when feces or raw sewage has entered the water supply.
The presence of E. coli in drinking water does not necessarily mean that the person drinking will become sick, but it indicates that over time the household is at a higher risk for waterborne diseases.
Contamination of water sources by E.coli is through leaks in latrine pits and septic tanks of latrines contaminating groundwater, contaminated surface water entering wells, leaks in piped systems, and animals using the same source.
Likewise, contamination can also be obtained, even if the source provides safe drinking water, by touching the water during collection, collecting water from the source in dirty containers, storing the water at home in open/dirty containers, and touching the water at home with dirty utensils or hands.
That is why, according to PSO Catubuan, the survey is very important to determine the number of households with access to safe drinking water and will provide data that will address problem on the quality of our drinking water.
The PSA urged respondents to cooperate in this survey by giving truthful responses to interviewers.
The WQT Module is implemented in cooperation with the Department of Health (DOH) and the World Health Organization (WHO).