Water quality monitoring in the Eastern Cape : a case study of the Chris Hani District Municipality
Access to safe drinking water is a basic human right (Hodgson and Manus, 2006). Consequently, safe drinking-water that complies with national - and international standards and norms is of the utmost importance in order to prevent incidences of outbreaks of waterborne diseases. Increases in the global population have placed increasing pressure on water resources. This in turn has resulted in high occurrences of waterborne disease outbreaks (Ford and Colwell, 1996). As a result, there is a need for effective water resource management in order to protect water resources as well as avoid preventable fatalities from water-related illnesses. In order to maintain control over the spread of water-related illness and disease, education on a local, national and international level is needed to facilitate knowledge sharing. Waterborne diseases have the ability to affect different sectors of society, as well as hinder economic progress. As a result, importance should be placed on the overall benefits to be achieved, in order to prompt governments to invest in the water and sanitation sector (Ford and Colwell, 1996).
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