Water has been called the 'Essence of Life'. With water composing 50-70% of our body weight, it is an important element to almost every chemical process in the body. Research shows that water helps in the following ways: rehydrates the body, lubricates joints, promotes the healing of our body's tissues, aids digestion, offsets fatigue and increases mental alertness. Every day a person loses a minimum of 1.8 litres of water through breathing, the pores of their skin and through their kidneys. To prevent dehydration, 2.0 - 2.5 litres of clean water should be consumed every day.
The problem is that clean water and contaminated water appear the same, and without testing, we cannot be sure if the water is safe to drink! Water can be contaminated with harmful bacteria or other harmful contaminants without us even noticing it by taste, smell or the colour of the water. It can take as few as ten harmful bacteria to be lethal for small children, the sick, and the elderly. Mark Brittain
Although the quality of Canada’s drinking water is considered to be among the best in the world, recent tragedies have raised important questions about its safety. The deadly waterborne E.coli outbreak in Walkerton, Ontario, and then the cryptosporidium outbreak in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, are just two recent incidents which revealed that there are serious problems with our drinking water. The Sierra Legal Defence Fund rated the performance of the provinces and territories in a report issued in January 2001 entitled ‘Waterproof: Canada’s Drinking Water Report Card’, based on a number of indicators, such as the stringency of testing and operator training; only four of Canada’s 13 provinces and territories merited a B rating. Five others earned a C, three scored a D and one province obtained an F. It is no wonder that the Canadians’ confidence in the quality of their water has been severely shaken, and as a result many of them have turned to bottled water to meet their basic needs.
In looking at the problem of finding clean, safe water
there is no quick tests currently available that can give us a rapid answer. I
decided to look at our local water supply. Taking a sample from the St. Lawrence
River where our municipality takes it's raw water, I tested it for E. coli
bacteria with a test kit I found at our local hardware store. It was three days
before I knew the results of the test, if the water was contaminated with
bacteria or not.
Then I set about to find ways to make the water safe to drink.