By Ezekiel Talatau
MANY people take for granted clean water from their taps and borehole, without realising if the water is treated well and good for human consumption.
People working in the ministry of health lab will know that.
Reports show that accessing clean water in Solomon Islands is significantly increasing in some parts of the region.
The likely increase of water quality are through the WASH projects, monitoring water treatments by Solomon Island Water Authority (SIWA) , World Bank Fund (accessed clean water) and HCC health division testing water quality.
Despite the increase demand of population in the capital, Solomon Islands Water Authority (SIWA) continues to maintain the water quality supply throughout the capital.
Settlements within Honiara have access to other water supply such as borehole and dam, but lack water treatment.
Island Sun for the last two months have investigated Maumelle community, how it accesses water and notices that the community accesses its own water supply provided by an Asian company.
The water is clean but lack of water testing is a significant risk at this stage.
Reports from Research water centre, stated that untreated water may cause water disease such as typhoid fever, dysentery, cholera and gastroenteritis when consume by humans.
SIWA uses chlorine to treat water system in Honiara (as most has experience when turning on the taps, it seems white and cloudy).
A concerned citizen told Island Sun that Solomon Islanders are privileged in accessing clean water, unluckily during the raining season, the water will turn milo when we turn on pipes.
This will affects most unsettlements that used boreholes and dams, and country will have a high rate of diarrhoea and other water borne disease, he added.
The responsible authority need to do awareness on water quality to rural areas and unsettlements to inform them about safety of clean water and ways how to deal with untreated water at the time of flooding, he said.
