Hello everyone! In my previous blog posts, I explored more unequal distribution and the impacts of indoor air pollution (IAP) on the poor community as compared to the rich community. Despite contributing less to IAP, the poor community is disproportionately affected by it. This is perhaps one of the many inequalities faced by them during this COVID-19 pandemic. On the same topic, I would be exploring if and how water pollution during the pandemic has unevenly impacted communities of varying socioeconomic levels.

It is difficult to definitively conclude if water pollution has improved or worsened overtime during the pandemic. This is because there is a range of positive and negative changes that have occurred during this period. On one hand, with the operations of major industries put on hold due to lockdown measures, many sources of water pollution were temporarily eliminated (Rume & Islam, 2020). As such, the water quality of rivers and other water bodies significantly improved across many countries. In addition, many tourists attractions such as the beaches of Thailand and Maldives, and the Grand Canal in Italy (Rume & Islam, 2020).

However, on the other hand, there has been an increase in biomedical waste such as surgical masks and gloves since the start of the pandemic. In Wuhan, 240 metric tonnes of biomedical waste were generated daily (Rume & Islam, 2020). With the extent to which biomedical waste is being generated, there is pressure on our waste management systems to treat and manage this waste appropriately. Improper management of biomedical waste will result in our wastewater systems and (eventually) our water sources being polluted.

Currently, while there are studies conducted to investigate water pollution during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a lack of studies done to explore its impacts on different communities. Hence, I would like to put forth some of my observations and deductions on this matter. Over the years, the urban poor has increasingly formed informal settlements such as slums and squatters along the coastlines. For example, in Metro Manila, a third of its population resides in informal settlements and many of which are by the coastlines (Morin et al., 2016). Considering that the urban poor community are in close proximity to water bodies, changes to water pollution will likely impact them disproportionately and directly. In addition, in contrast to other communities that receive their water supply by turning on the tap, many of these communities still rely on water bodies to access water directly. Hence, changes to the water quality of these sources will likely impact them more directly.

Granted, the abovementioned is not conclusive remarks about the inequalities that different communities face in terms of the impacts of water pollution during the COVID-19 pandemic. Much more needs to be researched to gain more insights into how we can better support these communities during this period. However, I hope that my blog post can help to shed some light on this issue and reiterate the fact that the consequences of pandemics are rarely evenly distributed.

That’s all folks, till next time!

Morin, V. M., Ahmad, M. M., & Warnitchai, P. (2016). Vulnerability to typhoon hazards in the coastal informal settlements of Metro Manila, the Philippines. Disasters, 40(4), 693–719. https://doi.org/10.1111/disa.12174
Rume, T., & Islam, S. M. D.-U. (2020). Environmental effects of COVID-19 pandemic and potential strategies of sustainability. Heliyon, 6(9), e04965. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04965