Citation:

SANTO-DOMINGO, J. W. AND N. ASHBOLT. Fecal Pollution of Water. Chapter N/A, Cutler J. Cleveland (ed.), Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment, Washington, D.C., DC, , 1-12, (2008).

Impact/Purpose:

Humans have long recognized that water is vital to all life forms. Undeniably, ancient civilizations flourished or disappeared depending on their access to clean water. Today, people in developed countries consider water as an unlimited resource because most citizens in such countries have relatively easy access to inexpensive potable water. However, the lack of water is being felt even in the U.S., as the scarcity of water in some states, especially in the southeast, is becoming the subject of regional political conflicts. In reality, there is a huge public misperception regarding water availability and its management. Potable water is not abundant even though water occupies more than two-thirds of the Earth. Liquid freshwater, which is used as the primary supply of drinking water, constitutes a very small fraction of the water on the planet. Due to issues like climate change, poorly managed water usage, agricultural irrigation practices, and population growth, the sustainability of water resources has now become an important issue globally. The expected increase in the total production of human and animals feces (due to population growth and meat consumption), is bound to have a detrimental effect on microbial water quality in both coastal and inland waters of developed countries. In developing countries the future is grimmer, because of lack of economical resources and appropriate sanitary conditions. Better management practices, remediation strategies, and overall awareness of the global issues associated with fecal pollution are needed in order to improve the chances of sustainable water resources for future generations in all countries.

Description:

Fecal pollution of water from a health point of view is the contamination of water with disease-causing organisms (pathogens) that may inhabit the gastrointestinal tract of mammals, but with particular attention to human fecal sources as the most relevant source of human illnesses globally. Ingestion of water contaminated with feces is responsible for a variety of diseases important to humans via what is known as the fecal-oral route of transmission. Food, air, soil, and all types of surfaces can also be important in the transmission of fecal pathogens, and thereby implicated in disease outbreaks. Most fecal microorganisms, however, are not pathogenic. Indeed, some are considered beneficial to the host as they can outcompete pathogens for space and nutrients, complement the biochemical potential of the host’s gastrointestinal tract, and help in the development of the host immune system. Nonetheless, animal feces can also carry a number of important frank and opportunistic pathogens, capable of inflicting debilitating illnesses and, in some cases, death. In 1998, it was estimated that 2.2 million deaths were associated with diarrhea each year, a good percentage of them due to fecal pollution of water, with the vast majority of victims being children in poor countries (WHO, 2000). This should not be a surprise as it has been estimated that more than 1 billion people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water, and more than 2 billion lack sanitation. Sadly, very little progress has been made in the last 20 years to ameliorate these problems, particularly due to the rapidly increasing global population. On the contrary, problems associated with fecal pollution of water are likely to worsen in coming decades, as more people are moving to coastal areas, most people now live in urban centers, many of which have out of control growth rates, and demands for animal meat products are increasing due to current trends in dietary regimes. Considering that per capita water availability and quantity are diminishing worldwide, it is reasonable to assume that fecal pollution of water is one of the most important and difficult challenges for future generations.

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