Water quality, WASH, and gender: differential impacts on health and well-being in Abeokuta City, Nigeria.

It is often assumed that humans experience the effect of poor water quality like multiple health and socioeconomic impacts in the same way. But these impacts are not gender neutral due to inequalities caused by physiological composition, age marginalization, and socioeconomic conditions, among others. A mixed method, comprising water quality assessment, a survey of 456 individuals, and medical record collection, was applied to examine the differential impacts of water quality and WASH practices in Abeokuta City, Nigeria. The assessment shows that without point-of-use water treatment, the water sources in the area are not safe for potable purposes, as the waters are hard in the sequence of borehole > surface water > hand-dug well > sachet water, with elevated levels of calcium (> 75 mg/L) and not free from microbial contamination. Among the area population segments, men and boys (relative to women and girls) may be more susceptible (55%) to the compounding health effects associated with the hardness and high calcium concentration in water. Girls are the most affected by the associated impacts of water collection. Men and boys are more vulnerable to the consequences of poor hygiene, while women are more susceptible to the health effects of toilet cleaning and the sharing of sanitation facilities, among others. We conclude that there are differential impacts of unsafe water, WASH services, and practices on human health. Gendered statistics through sex-disaggregated data is crucial to unmasking the differential impacts, which are neither gender neutral nor evenly distributed between women and men, and boys and girls.

Soil-applied zinc and copper suppress cadmium uptake and improve the performance of cereals and legumes.

The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of soil-applied Zn and Cu on absorption and accumulation of Cd applied through irrigation water in legume (chickpea and mung bean) and cereal (wheat and maize) crops. The results revealed that Cd in irrigation water at higher levels (2 and 5 mg L-1) significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the plant biomass while the soil application of Zn and Cu, singly or combined, favored the biomass production. Plant tissue Cd concentration increased linearly with the increasing application of Cd via irrigation water. While Cd application caused a redistribution of metals in grains, straw, and roots with the highest concentration of Cd, Zn, and Cu occurred in roots followed by straw and grains. Zinc addition to soil alleviated Cd toxicity by decreasing Cd concentration in plant tissues due to a possible antagonistic effect. The addition of Cu to the soil had no consistent effects on Zn and Cd contents across all crops. Inhibitory effects of Cd on the uptake and accumulation of Zn and Cu have also been observed at higher Cd load. Thus, soil-applied Zn and Cu antagonized Cd helping the plant to cope with its toxicity and suppressed the toxic effects of Cd in plant tissues, thus favoring plant growth.

A Rapid Review of Environmental Health Gaps in Antimicrobial Resistance and Water-Related Research from 1990-2020.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a pervasive global health threat linked to human antimicrobial misuse and abuse, food production, and broader environmental contamination. While global agencies promote a multi-sectoral One Health system approach to equitably combat human, animal, and environmental health AMR risks, it is widely acknowledged that the human and animal sectors dominate discussions. Given this disproportionate focus, identification of critical research gaps is needed to develop stewardship plans that equitably address One Health AMR threats. This review used natural language processing and term frequency algorithms to classify 12,638 records from 1990-2020 thematically in order to highlight sectoral prioritization and gaps. It also specifically assessed water-related gaps as water is recognized as both a primary environmental dissemination pathway and key means of intervention. Drawing from systemic health and integrated water management lenses, this review found that themes related to plant, wildlife, and environmental-related AMR threats-in particular, the role that environmental (ambient) waters play in AMR development, transmission, and spread-are under-prioritized as compared to human and food animal health concerns regardless of geographic region or income level. Further prioritization of these themes is needed to strengthen the environmental dimension of One Health AMR responses and systemically protect global health.

Freshwater availability status across countries for human and ecosystem needs.

Water demand is expected to continue rising to support growing population, particularly in water-stressed countries and regions. Amid competitive water needs for agricultural, domestic, and industrial sectors, water allocations for environmental requirements are critical to ensure the sustainability of the ecosystems. This study takes stock of water availability trends per capita across countries and proposes a water scarcity indicator to quantify the amount of water available for agricultural, domestic, and industrial activities after the needs of freshwater ecosystems (environmental flow requirements, EFR) are ideally fulfilled. The study reveals that by 2050, 87 out of 180 countries will have annual renewable water resources (ARWR) per capita below 1700 m3/year. The number of countries with absolute water scarcity - ARWR per capita below 500 m3/year is projected to increase from 25 in 2015 to 45 by 2050. Population growth is projected to cause a sharp decline in water availability in many low-income and lower-middle-income countries, while economic development will push water use upwards, making the water supply gap more complicated and challenging to address. After the Middle East and North Africa region, Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to become the next hotspot of water scarcity along with several countries from Asia. In response, water-scarce countries need to promote water conservation, water recycling, and reuse; ensure sustainable water resources augmentation via harnessing the potential of unconventional water resources; support productivity enhancement of underperforming land and water resources; and address challenges beyond technical solutions. Pertinent political agenda and associated public policies, supportive institutions, institutional collaborations, and skilled professionals would be the key to ensure sufficient water supply for human use and ecosystems.

The state of desalination and brine production: A global outlook.

Rising water demands and diminishing water supplies are exacerbating water scarcity in most world regions. Conventional approaches relying on rainfall and river runoff in water scarce areas are no longer sufficient to meet human demands. Unconventional water resources, such as desalinated water, are expected to play a key role in narrowing the water demand-supply gap. Our synthesis of desalination data suggests that there are 15,906 operational desalination plants producing around 95 million m3/day of desalinated water for human use, of which 48% is produced in the Middle East and North Africa region. A major challenge associated with desalination technologies is the production of a typically hypersaline concentrate (termed 'brine') discharge that requires disposal, which is both costly and associated with negative environmental impacts. Our estimates reveal brine production to be around 142 million m3/day, approximately 50% greater than previous quantifications. Brine production in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar accounts for 55% of the total global share. Improved brine management strategies are required to limit the negative environmental impacts and reduce the economic cost of disposal, thereby stimulating further developments in desalination facilities to safeguard water supplies for current and future generations.

High­magnesium waters and soils: Emerging environmental and food security constraints.

Food insecurity and declining availability of freshwater and new productive land in water-scarce areas and countries necessitate effective use of marginal-quality waters and underperforming soils. High­magnesium waters and soils are emerging examples of water quality deterioration and land degradation leading to environmental and food security constraints in several irrigation schemes. A ratio of magnesium-to-calcium > 1 in irrigation waters and an exchangeable magnesium percentage > 25% in soils are considered high enough to result in soil degradation and impact crop yields negatively. These soil and water resources occur in the Aral Sea Basin in Central Asian countries, the Cauca River Valley in Colombia, the Central Plateau Basin in Iran, the Indus Basin in Pakistan, the Indo-Gangetic Plains in India, the Murray-Darling Basin in Australia, and the Coastal Mountain Range in California, among others. With limited and scattered information, their occurrence remains hidden or unnoticed in many cases due to the lack of criteria in water quality assessment and soil classification systems. Managing high­magnesium waters and soils requires a source of calcium to mitigate magnesium effects, in addition to an effective drainage system for safe disposal of excess magnesium salts. There is a need to put high­magnesium waters and soils on the public policy agenda. Pertinent policies can catalyze stakeholders' involvement in supporting water and land quality monitoring systems and introducing innovative financial mechanisms to facilitate provision of calcium-supplying amendments in affected areas. Equally important would be strengthening institutional and professionals' capacity, enhancing institutional collaboration, encouraging private sector involvement in at-risk areas, and engaging local communities and farmers. These efforts will support the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Eradicating extreme poverty and meeting the Sustainable Development Goals in water-scarce areas without adequately addressing underperforming land and water resources is highly unlikely.

A Review of Health Risks and Pathways for Exposure to Wastewater Use in Agriculture.

BACKGROUND: Wastewater is increasingly being used in the agricultural sector to cope with the depletion of freshwater resources as well as water stress linked to changing climate conditions. As wastewater irrigation expands, research focusing on the human health risks is critical because exposure to a range of contaminants must be weighed with the benefits to food security, nutrition and livelihoods. OBJECTIVES: The goal of this paper was to review research examining health risks and exposure pathways associated with wastewater irrigation to identify research trends and gaps. METHODS: We conducted a review of the literature and identified a total of 126 studies published from 1995 to 2013. Findings were summarized based on several themes including types of exposure pathways, wastewater contaminants, methodological approaches and the geographical distribution of research. RESULTS: Only 23 studies used epidemiological methods, while most research applied alternative methods to estimate risk, such as quantitative risk assessment models or comparisons of crop contamination to established guidelines for wastewater reuse. A geographic breakdown demonstrated a focus on microbiological contaminants in specific regions such as sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, despite growing chemical risks associated with rapid urbanization and industrialization that may change the types and distribution of wastewater contaminants. CONCLUSIONS: To provide a more comprehensive understanding of the health risks of wastewater use in agriculture, future research should consider multiple exposure routes, long-term health implications, and increase the range of contaminants studied, particularly in regions heavily dependent on wastewater irrigation. CITATION: Dickin SK, Schuster-Wallace CJ, Qadir M, Pizzacalla K. 2016. A review of health risks and pathways for exposure to wastewater use in agriculture. Environ Health Perspect 124:900-909; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1509995.