WETLAB – Western Environmental Testing Laboratory takes a closer look at Water Quality Around The World.

We spend a lot of time looking into water quality here in Northern Nevada. A lot of time. So when we came across a Gallup poll on water quality around the world, we took a step back, to take a broader look.

Gallup surveyed residents in 145 countries around the world, asking, “In the city or area where you live, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the quality of water?”

The highest satisfaction levels, measured by percent satisfied, were not surprisingly in the United States, Canada, western and northern Europe, according to the poll.

While the USA had 87 percent of respondents say they were satisfied – the same as Canada and Ireland – Both the United Kingdom and the Netherlands ranked higher at 91 and 92 percent respectively. Denmark, Norway and Sweden all took the top mark at 94 percent.

The other end of the spectrum, also not surprisingly unfortunately, where sub-Saharan African countries. At the bottom of the survey results was Chad, with only 21 percent of respondents were satisfied with water quality. Also on the low end were Nigeria and Ethiopia, both at 29 percent, Liberia, at 30 percent and Tanzania, at 35 percent.

It wasn’t all bad in sub-Saharan Africa – with Malawi, South Africa and Namibia at 79, 81 and 82 percent respectively.

Former Soviet Bloc countries also showed strong dissatisfaction, with Ukraine at 26 percent, Russia at 30 percent and  Kazakhstan at 49 percent.

The rest of Asia runs from a low of 35 percent in Lebanon and 43 percent in Cambodia to 98 percent in Singapore. In the world’s largest population centers, China and India, satisfaction rated 75 percent and 68 percent respectively.

In the western hemisphere, Latin America and the Caribbean ranged widely Gallup said this water-rich area was prone to exploitation and contamination.

In the Caribbean, Haiti was at 44 percent, and the polling was done before the devastating earthquake of 2010. But nearby Jamaica responded much more positively, at 89 percent.

Guyana, a small country on the northern edge of South America, responded at 54 percent satisfied, while Uruguay to the south ranked at 91 percent. Mexico fell somewhere in the middle at 70 percent.

To see the complete results, go to http://www.gallup.com/poll/105211/water-quality-issue-around-world.aspx

View of a rosette sampler, used to collect water samples for water quality testing. This type of sampler can be used in deep water for locations such as the Great Lakes and oceans. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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