Clean Water
Why Dirty Water Storage Tanks
Why so many dirty water storage tanks in Ghana? Surely it cannot be because people cannot afford to get them cleaned
These are possible reasons?
- Water storage tanks are tucked on the roof or on high stands not easily or safely accessible
- If you don’t know what is inside the tank why bother
- The wrong assumption that we don’t drink the water
- Water shortage
- It is the responsibility of Ghana Water
The number of pharmacies springing up in urban cities lay claim to the fact that more people are falling ill. What are the odds that this can be partly due to the water used domestically and at work?
A real concern
The continuous use of contaminated water to cook, shower, brush, make ice cubes and in some cases even drink is a cocktail of slow poison. This eventually manifests as wrongly diagnosed health issues.
Parents and guardians will be up in arms if only they knew what lingers in the water storage tanks at schools, hospitals, hotels, offices and even at home.
We have met up with facility managers of serviced residential apartments in plush parts of Accra and the story is the same. Their water storage tanks or reservoirs have NEVER been cleaned. And when you ask why? The reply that they had not thought about it or had other pressing duties.
Tell tale questions to ask are:
- When was the last time my tanks were cleaned?
- Does my tank have a cover?
- Is my tank directly hit by the sun – causes bacteria to breed in the water
- Does my water smell, taste funny or have a colour?
Urban dwellers are at high risk of waterborne diseases because we are too busy dealing with everyday challenges to pay any attention to the source of water.
Its about time we start to pay more attention to the state of our Polytanks, Sintex, Polyworld or whatever we use to store water to protect the health of our friends and families.
The outcome …
The need to clean our water storage tanks is often ignored until a health problem occurs. In most instances the problem reoccurs since the source has not be fixed.
Imagine the irony of taking drugs to fix a skin ailment whilst still using the water from the tank that caused the condition.
Best Practices
The following suggestions will go a long way to reduce problems from dirty water storage tanks.
Have a sticker on the tank stating when it was last cleaned and preferably a next clean date.
Make sure the tank is always covered especially after a water supply or a visit from a plumber. If your water tank does not allow light in, algae cannot grow.
Check regularly for leaks especially at the pipe connectors and fix promptly.
Use a water purification product like Aquatabs periodically to sanitise the water in the tank.
Do not drink the water directly from the tap unless it passes through a home water filtration system. Informing under age members of the family of reasons why they should NOT drink water from the tap will be very helpful.
In many situations, tanks are elevated on scaffolding or on prefab structures that have not been checked for a period of time.
It is important to call FF CLEANING SERVICE as we are experienced in working safely at heights and in confined spaces.
