Contaminants, comparisons, and consequences: The three c’s of a water quality assessment
Having access to clean drinking water is a crucial component to enjoying positive health outcomes; unfortunately, pristine drinking water is not a universal norm. Peru is a prominent example of a nation with wide diversity in ecology, human activity, and demography, where the range of access to clean drinking water varies greatly. Even within the Madre de Dios region of Peru, communities experience differential quality of drinking water. This study aimed to test relative contaminant levels in the drinking water distribution system throughout four communities and to relate the outcomes to various socioeconomic and environmental factors which influence community development. To accomplish this task, I interned with Hoja Nueva, a non-profit working in the remote Las Piedras region of Peru, and conducted water quality assessments and interviews with two indigenous and remotely located communities and two migrant communities located in a relatively more urban setting along the interoceanic highway. The parameters chosen for this assessment included pH, turbidity, nitrates, chlorine, and total and fecal coliforms. The assessment reveals how a lack of equitably distributed resources negatively impacts drinking water quality, especially in the more remotely located indigenous communities. The results should be utilized to promote local government and organizational involvement for establishing economically and technologically feasible solutions that will improve drinking water treatment, education, and environmental protections. Hoja Nueva will continue to monitor water quality with respect to changing environmental and socioeconomic conditions of the communities using this study’s water quality assessment methodology as a baseline for comparison.