While getting a borehole cannot be affordable to everyone, we must look out for alternative means of getting clean, yet cheap, water.
I was fortunate to be among the team that carried out a water quality control test on some purification plants here in Ilorin some years ago during my undergraduate days. We looked into some portable water samples from these companies, and from that experiment, I can tell you which company's water is good for drinking within this town.
Among the 5 companies tested, there was one whose water was really bad and not even up to the minimum standard for drinking. From the information we have gathered, the same test has been carried out in that same company for more than 5 years, and the result has been the same. I appreciate the fact that the water microbiology department of our school is really concerned about the quality of the water people around the town drink.
This task will only be fair enough if the results from the laboratory are taken and used to caution these water companies about packing unclean water in bottles for people.
The quality control offices for drinks and foods in various countries are to be active and alert against such. An outbreak of waterborne disease can emerge from a simple mistake by any company.
A little warning to everyone: be careful because not every bottle of water you see is clean enough for consumption.
It is unfortunate to see that even the waters we are relying on as good enough for drinking aren't really so. Some of these companies are just after their business and are maximizing very capital they can to make enough profit.
I have lived in Ilorin for more than 10 years now. Before this time, the water situation here wasn't so bad, as we have a government-owned water board that supplies water to all the communities in this town, for which we often pay some bills, but that is in the past. The water from the board is often purified and looks very clean, even though I am not too sure if it is free of microorganisms.
Ever since that supply was cut off, individuals are now responsible for the water they drink and use for domestic purposes.
The kind of water supply you will see comprises these
A lot of homes build these wells and use the water directly for cooking and drinking purposes.
In order to keep it clean, some make covers over the mouth of the well to keep rodents and other animals from dying in the water. Although this water may seem neater than other open-source water like the streams and rivers we see in the villages, Some people may argue that rivers are neater since they are ever-flowing, but constantly fetching water from the wells also renews such water.
Besides, it's good advice to keep a single fetcher rather than have different people drop various items into the well to draw water from it; that's one way to keep your water clean.
In most of the nooks and crannies, especially in the most rural neighborhoods, this hand-pump borehole is very common, although this one beside my home isn't functioning anymore. The government often donates this to such communities, and the water coming from here is relatively clean compared to drinking muddy and unclean water.
I hope you know that a lot of people drink rainwater. They believe that it is one of the cleanest water sources available because it falls directly from the sky, while some will allow the first few rains to wash their dirty roofs before collecting rainwater from such roofs for direct (drinking) consumption. Well, I have seen that after a few days, you see tadpoles growing in the water, and that is to tell us that even rainwater isn't clean enough for direct consumption.
Filtering, boiling, and refrigerating these waters can make them better for drinking.
Another source of water available in our communities are these boreholes.
So far, they are the cleanest water for drinking purposes since they are drilled to meet the water beds under the earth. But people often fail to clean the tanks that collect these waters. I have seen water tanks completely covered in green-growing algae.
Water tanks are often made in dark or black colors to prevent too much lightening that causes algae to grow in our stored water. Nevertheless, that shouldn't be a deterrent for us to stop cleaning our storage tank once in awhile.
You can see the algae growing around this water area, and it's most likely that someone from this community is trying to fetch some drinking water from this tap.
Adding tiles or concrete around the tap above can make that water course cleaner for drinking.
In summary , ensure you keep a clean water tank if you have water. Well water can be treated to make them clean enough for drinking, we have individuals and companies who are into such business and can help out. Tap water pipes and it's surrounding can be kept clean enough from rust and algae growth.
This way each community can have enough clean water for drinking.
Although we all rely on bottles of water from companies as a clean and realizable source of drinking water, we can look into cheaper ways to prepare our own water, cutting down on the stress we go through to get this water. Some water from your clean tank can have almost the same quality as the ones sold to you in the streets; you never can tell.
All images are mine.
This is my submission to the hive learner's prompt, and thank you for stopping by.