What Are The Dangers Of Stagnant Water On Health?

Impact of Stagnant Water

A) Health Risks Associated

Water stagnation can pose multiple risks to our health due to its potential to turn into a major breeding ground for various disease-causing organisms and biofilms. Some major health risks associated with stagnant water are listed below:

Mosquito-Borne Diseases

When water stagnates in a place, it becomes one of the most congenial breeding grounds for mosquitoes, thereby increasing the chances of mosquito-borne diseases like malaria, dengue, West Nile virus, and Zika virus. These diseases can make you severely sick and can even be life-threatening.

Parasitic Infections

Stagnant water may also offer an ideal breeding ground for dangerous parasites like Schistosoma, causing a disease called schistosomiasis. The attack of this parasite can cause severe symptoms like diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and even organ damage.

Waterborne Diseases

Stagnant water becomes a happy home for various parasites, bacteria, and fungi. These waterborne germs can cause life-threatening diseases like cholera, dysentery, and typhoid. These dangerous diseases may infect individuals who drink or accidentally come in contact with contaminated stagnant water.

Skin Infections

The bacteria and fungi that thrive in stagnant water may infect your skin if you come into contact with that stagnant, contaminated water. The skin infections triggered by stagnant water include athlete’s foot, dermatitis, and others.

Legionnaires’ Disease

Legionnaires’ disease is caused by the Legionella bacteria breeding in water that has stagnated within air conditioning systems, such as cooling towers or hot tubs. When a person inhales the water droplets containing the bacteria, they may contract Legionnaires’ disease — a severe type of pneumonia that often turns out to be fatal.

B) Environment-related

Stagnant water can also prove to be fatal for the environment. Its impact on environment is as follows:

• Water Pollution

Stagnation of water leads to water pollution due to build-up of pollutants such as toxins, sewage, and chemical wastes. These pollutants deteriorate the surrounding soil and groundwater quality, making the soil unsuitable for crop cultivation and threatening the local ecosystem.

• Destruction of Habitat

Over time, the stagnation of water can adversely affect and alter certain physical characteristics of our environment, causing erosion, sedimentation, and unwanted accumulation of organic matter. These occurrences can destroy the environment’s ability to support diverse forms of life and lead to destruction of flora and fauna habitats.

• Decreased Biodiversity

Water that has stagnated cannot support the life of aquatic animals and plants that need highly oxygenated water to survive. Only microorganisms that survive in low-oxygen conditions can thrive in a stagnant and stale environment. This imbalance causes decreased biodiversity.

• Air Pollution

Water stagnation is marked by anaerobic conditions, which lead to the release of foul-smelling gases such as hydrogen sulphide and methane. When the organic substances in stagnant water decompose, they release unpleasant smells that can lead to air pollution.

• Increase in Soil Salinity

Evaporation of stagnant water can lead to an increase in soil salinity. After the water evaporates, salt is left behind in the soil leading to a rise in soil salinity and decrease in the soil’s fertility. As a result, the soil becomes unfit for agricultural use and fails to support healthy plant growth.

• Infrastructural Damage

Clogged waterways and poor drainage can trigger water stagnation and flooding during heavy rains. Flooding, in turn, results in immense infrastructure damage, such as damage to buildings, roads, and agricultural lands. This may further lead to the breakdown of soil structure, landslides, and massive environmental degradation.

Steps to Prevent Mosquito Breeding

Water stagnation paves way for breeding of mosquitoes and spread of mosquito-borne diseases. Here are some steps you can follow to prevent that from happening:

• Remove Standing Water

Remove all standing water by emptying containers like flower pots, pet bowls, tyres, and buckets. Make sure your gutters are clean to allow water to flow out easily. Furthermore, fix any leaks in outdoor pipes, faucets, and air conditioning units to avoid the creation of puddles.

• Cover the Containers

Do not leave containers with water uncovered. If you cannot arrange a lid, cover the containers with a mesh or mosquito net to stop mosquitoes from entering the water and laying eggs in the stagnant water.

• Treat the Standing Water

Water in ponds or ditches cannot be removed, and in that case, you need to treat the water with larvicides, which are chemicals to kill mosquito larvae. Another way to address the problem is to add mosquito-eating fish, such as goldfish or guppies, to the ponds and ditches.

• Ensure Proper Drainage of Water

Make sure no pools develop around your property. One way to do this is by grading the land. Also, keep the ditches and drains around your property free of debris to rule out the possibility of water stagnation.

FAQs

1. Is stagnant water safe to drink?

If water stagnates within water or plumbing systems, it may become hazardous for drinking.

2. What is meant by stagnant water flushing?

Stagnant water flushing is a systematic process to remove water stagnation and allow the water to flow. In plumbing and drinking water distribution systems, flushing is done by opening taps and other water outlets to let the water run. This procedure has a scouring effect and can effectively clean pipelines.

3. Can stagnant water be purified?

Yes, stagnant water can be purified through boiling. However, water pockets formed in the surroundings, such as in ponds and ditches, cannot be easily boiled. Therefore, it is quite difficult to purify stagnant water in those areas.

4. Can vegetable oil be added to stagnant water to kill mosquito larvae?

Yes, vegetable oil can effectively destroy mosquito larvae. Simply add vegetable oil to the surface of the standing water. The oil creates a thin film over the surface, cutting off the air supply needed by the larvae to grow and survive.

5. What is meant by trapped water stagnation?

When water gets trapped within a container-like object, it is called trapped water stagnation. In a residential or industrial property, there could be several objects that trap and stagnate water. Some such objects include bird baths, decorative ponds, plant pots, discarded cans and tyres, roofs, dug-outs, leaf sheaths, and the hollows of tree trunks.