Right to water in lower rank settlements. Contribution from local to global. A study case in Buenos Aires province (Argentina)

ADRIANA A. DÍAZ; CORINA IRIS RODRIGUEZ

Cracovia

Congreso; IGU Regional Conference; 2014

Jagiellonian University

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights establishes the "right to an adequate standard of living to ensure the health and well-being for themselves and their families." One of the Millennium Development Goals aims to "ensure the sustenance of the environment", including the halving of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015. Therefore, the trinomial "water-sanitation-hygiene" is essential, knowing that their lack will affect population health. In this context, the broadest conception of the right to water and the holistic and interdisciplinary approach are elemental points to achieve knowledge and direct action on affected communities. In Argentina, the lower rank settlements have historically delayed regarding sanitary services coverage because of their low-density. Maria Ignacia (Buenos Aires) is a village with 2000 inhabitants, and drinking water service covers the most part of the urban area provided by a cooperative. However, many urban and suburban housing are not connected, using private boreholes to exploit groundwater. The discharge system consists on seepage pits. The occurrence of waterborne diseases alerted the Municipal Hospital´s staff, who took the initiative to know in detail the water quality. Under this scenario, this work was based on the characterization of chemical and microbiological quality of groundwater and its hydrodynamics. 16 sites that made the network measurement and sampling were selected. Two sampling campaigns (one in November 2011 and another in September 2012) were performed for measurement of groundwater level and sampling for physico-chemical analysis. In the sampling campaign in September 2012, samples for microbiological analysis were obtained. The presence of pathogens and elevated nitrate levels in individual boreholes was detected. Resulting 81.25% of the samples not apt for human consumption in microbiological terms, and 18.75% of the samples had nitrate values much above the current standard. Neighbors, key informant interviews and direct observations were surveyed. Poor construction and sanitary protection of boreholes was detected. In addition, education activities with the community were developed with the goal of promoting the water quality and to prevent contamination and potential diseases. The work allowed to know holistically system operation as the first step in diagnosing connection with waterborne diseases. The approach to the community was facilitated by the Hospital?s team, which favored dialogue with the community, allowing knowledge of water use, capture techniques, and disposal. The joint and coordinated work from different disciplines, has been a key factor in the first step towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals at the local level.