Elements of arsenic found in water supply sources is a sign that Cambodia needs to give time, money and attention to assuring the safety of one of the country’s most important resources, officials said this week.
A World Health Organization study completed last year found that 9 percent of rural and urban water supplies were contaminated with dangerous levels of arsenic.
While that news was a “wake up call” for the government to do more to protect water, it is not considered an alarming problem, said Ly Touch, secretary of state for the Ministry Rural Development, after a Wednesday meeting of ministries, donors and other agencies.
Because working on water supply issues requires cooperation from at least five different ministries, the first step for Cambodia is to create a system of communication and cooperation among them, Ly Touch said.
“The duty of the government is to provide water to the people,” he said. “But it is our responsibility also to release safe water.”
The ministries of Mines and Energy, Health, Environment, and Water Resources must all cooperate with the Ministry of Rural Development to ensure safe drinking water is available to the public, Ly Touch said.
Currently, only about 26 percent of the rural population has access to safe drinking water. Arsenic was found in some of that water, which comes from hand-pump wells, and that is cause for concern, Ly Touch said.
Surface water, however, poses the main danger to villagers, WHO environmental engineer Steven Iddings said. Unsafe water from ponds and rivers is the main source for such health risks as cholera, dysentery and diarrhea.
The results of Wednesday’s meeting will be forwarded to the Council of Ministers, which will be urged to draft legislation to begin an extensive study of water sources nationwide.
Right now, Ly Touch said, “there is a general consensus on the seriousness of the matter…[but] no panic for rural communities.”
Global water supply is becoming a greater concern to international agencies. The Asian Development Bank issued a statement Wednesday calling the region’s water shortage “serious.” Water availability in Southeast Asia has dropped 55 percent over the last 50 years, the statement said.
Finding clean water sources will become more critical in the future, Ly Touch said. “Better to start now,” he said.
