Clean drinking water is an essential commodity but sadly millions of people in the world don’t have access to proper clean drinking water. The problem is especially prominent in third world underdeveloped countries.

Cheapest Drinking water

The situation is not either good in India. Many people still don’t have access to clean drinking water and thousands of people die every year from drinking contaminated water. Recently an NGO named ‘Sulabh International’ has claimed to provide the cheapest drinking water to public. According to their claim, each litre of drinking water will only cost 50 paise. If so, this would be the cheapest drinking water available in the world.  Sulabh International launched their first project in Dwarbhanga, Bihar. 

The project aims to purify contaminated river water, thus providing clean drinking water to the people. This project was first started at Haribol pond in Dwarbhanga Nagar Nigam. In this process they claim to produce clean drinking water at a very nominal cost. They claim that the project has the capacity to purify 8000 litres of contaminated water per day at a very low cost. This foundation also aims to plant tree on the bank of Haribol pond which be managed by local self-help groups. This kind of projects were first initiated at three districts of West Bengal such as North 24 Parganas, Nadia and Murshidabad with collaboration with a French organisation. These projects turned out to be very successful and now they are aiming to produce drinking water at cheaper rate. 

Groundwater of several districts of North Bihar especially those bordering Nepal is contaminated with arsenic and other chemicals and it is affecting thousands of people. Arsenic is a very toxic element that can cause fatal diseases. Consuming arsenic for a very long time can cause skin lesions and cancer. This will be very beneficial for the local people. People are forced to migrate because of the issue of contaminated water. 

Cheapest drinking water country wise 

Tap water price is lowest globally in some of the Asian countries, especially in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has the lowest tap water price, i.e. 0.04 US dollars per cubic litre of water. Cairo has the second lowest tap water price that is 0.08 US Dollars per 1000 litres of water. In Europe the Italian city Milan has one of the lowest drinking water prices, that is 0.49 US dollars per cubic meter of water. Though the price of water varies across the world. For example, Oslo in Norway has one of the highest tap water prices that is 6.69 US Dollars per cubic meter water. Also, many cities in US, is suffering from the problem of water level depletion, such as San Diego and Los Angeles also pays high price for drinking water. In these cities the price of drinking water is increasing rapidly. Globally US is one of the most water consuming countries in the world. 

Also, according to the water intelligence Ireland and Turkmenistan is the only two countries in the world that provides free drinking water to its citizen. Also, water price is very cheap in some states of India, Brussels in Belgium and Turkey in Istanbul. But in case of best quality of water, the water quality index is very high in Innsbruck in Austria, Helsinki in Finland, Vienna in Austria, Oslo in Norway and Rotterdam and Amsterdam in Netherlands. 

How to properly drink water

Hydration is extremely important for human body and helps to control all the physiological processes such as digestion, metabolism and even weight loss. But one should follow certain steps while drinking water, such as

• One should drink water sip by sip and shouldn’t gulp down a huge amount of water. 

The best way to drink water is to sit down with a glass of water and sip it bit by bit. In case of not having access to proper drinking water one should boil the water before drinking. This can help to purify contaminated water to some extent. One should drink water in regular interval to hydrate oneself. One should also opt for drinking water instead of sugary energy drinks. Especially drinking water is essential for the growth of young people. Consuming proper drinking water can prevent dehydration, overheating of the body, constipation and even kidney stones. Drinking water also helps to protect the spinal cord and other sensitive tissues. Mixing Alum with water to purify it is also a very common and cost-effective method.

Conclusion

Thousands of people around the world lack access to clean drinking water. Lack of clean drinking water causes life threatening problems and even migration. It is evident that price of the water depends on the quality of the water. For example, tap water price is very high in Norway and Austria but the quality of the water is also very good. On the other hand, the tap water price is low in Pakistan but the quality is very poor.