All living things need water to survive. The human body is no exception, as body fluid makes up about 60% of your body weight. Yor body has many important jobs to do and needs water to do many of them. No one can survive for more than a few days without water.
The journey a few sips of water takes through the body:
When a few sips of water enter the mouth, it mixes with saliva and travels down the esophagus into the stomach, where the absorption process starts before ending up in the small intestine, where the majority of the water absorption occurs. Tiny blood vessels in the small intestine absorb the water into the bloodstream. Nutrients from the food we eat are also absorbed into the bloodstream in the small intestine. Bloodstream also picks up oxygen in the lungs and carries nutrients and oxygen to every cell in the body, including brain cells. Water provides the cells with hydration to perform daily functions efficiently.
The first big step in this process happens when the body experience hydration. After a few sips of water, the brain will tell the body that it has had enough to drink. This mechanism prevents us from drinking too much water, as it takes a long time for the water to reach cells and provides them with sufficient hydration. Should the brain only register hydration after cells receive the water, we would drink much more water than the body needs or can cope with.
How water leaves the body:
- The bloodstream picks up waste products from the cells and carries them to the kidneys. The kidneys use water to filter toxins out of the body. Once the kidneys have used as much water as they need to function properly, the rest is processed as urine and goes to the bladder, from where it is passed when urinating.
- When the small intestine has absorbed enough water to send throughout the body, water is passed along to the large intestine, where it combines with solid matter to soften stool and aid digestion.
- Water also leaves the body through the skin when sweating. Sweat is the way the body regulates temperature, and the average person sweat at a rate of 500 – 700 ml per day.
Benefits of drinking water:
Water allows you to stay hydrated and doesn’t contain unnecessary calories or additives. Drinking sufficient water impacts various bodily functions and has many benefits for overall health.
- It forms saliva and mucus. Saliva helps to digest food and keeps the mouth, nose and eyes moist, which prevents friction and damage.
- Lubricating the joints. Cartilage in the joints and disks of the spine contains about 80% water, which helps to lubricate and to absorb shocks.
- Body temperature regulation. Water is stored in the middle layers of the skin and comes to the surface of the skin as sweat when the body heats up. As the sweat evaporates, it cools the body.
- Skin health: Water intake is associated with improved skin barrier function and prevents the skin from becoming more vulnerable to skin disorders.
- Cognitive and mental health. Hydration plays a role in maintaining our cognitive function, such as improving focus, memory, and mental performance. Staying hydrated can also positively affect one’s mood.
- Digestive health. Adequate hydration plays a role in healthy digestion, nutrient absorption, and can prevent constipation.
- Body waste. Water is required in processes such as sweating and the removal of urine and feces from the body.
- Blood pressure. Water helps to maintain healthy blood circulation and blood pressure, as not drinking enough fluids can cause low blood volume, leading to low blood pressure, which means your organs may not get the oxygen they need to function properly. Being dehydrated can cause blood pressure to plummet and then potentially skyrocket in response.
- Kidney function. As the kidneys regulate fluids in the body, insufficient water intake can lead to kidney stones and other kidney problems. Drinking enough water helps to flush out waste products from the kidneys.
- Energy levels. Drinking enough water regularly helps to maintain energy levels throughout the day.
- Physical performance. If you have done sweat-inducing exercise, you need to replace the fluid you have lost. Dehydration reduces performance in strenuous activities that last longer than 30 minutes.
How much water to drink daily:
There are no fixed rules on how much water to drink daily, as it depends on factors such as age, activity level, gender, height and weight, health conditions, and the ambient temperature, which could affect water intake requirements.
General guidelines for healthy people recommend that men drink about 3 liters, women at least 2 liters, and kids and teens 1,5-2 liters of water per day. These amounts differ based on how much water they take in from other beverages and food sources. Fluids such as coffee and tea are included in the daily recommendations, as are fresh fruit (such as watermelon, blueberries, strawberries) and vegetables (such as cucumber, iceberg lettuce, tomato) that are rich in water.
However, it is best to avoid sugary drinks, while energy drinks are simply another sugary beverage. Energy drinks are probably only useful to people doing intense exercise for a long time in which they sweat a lot, especially energy drinks that contain electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, and calcium.
If you sweat when exercising, you should increase your water intake, also when temperatures soar outside. You might naturally feel thirstier in warmer temperatures. Medications such as diuretics may cause fluid loss, which means water intake should be increased.
Overall, water is still the best way to stay hydrated, as it is calorie-free and caffeine-free. The taste of water can be enhanced by healthy add-ins such as sliced cucumber, lemon wedges, or fresh mint.
Drinks to limit:
Much of the advertising surrounding many of the drinks marketed to kids, teens, and adults should be taken with a pinch of salt, as they usually contain way more sugar than you need in a day and can contribute to poor health.
- Sugary drinks: Limit sugar sweetened beverages as much as possible, including sports drinks, juice cocktails, sodas, and sweetened flavored water. These drinks discourage the habit of drinking plain water. Added sugar can lead to excess weight gain, diabetes, and dental cavities.
- Artificially sweetened drinks: Don’t be fooled by artificial sweeteners, research has indicated that a high intake of artificial sweeteners over the longer term may confuse your body into storing fat and inducing diabetes.
- Juice: While juices may contain some vitamins, they are highly concentrated and high in sugar and calories and low in the healthy fiber that is found in whole fruit.
- Flavored milk: While natural milk provides calcium and vitamins, flavored milk can be high in sugar.
The risks of dehydration:
When you become dehydrated or overwhelmed in the heat of summer, you are at risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
Heat exhaustion occurs from excessive sweating, which results in dehydration and for the core body temperature to rise. Symptoms include heavy sweating, weakness, dizziness, headache, nausea, and even vomiting. Move the person to a cool place, rehydrate with cool water, and use ice packs or cold towels to lower the body temperature.
Heat stroke, also known as sun stroke, is a serious condition in which the body overheats to such a point that the body starts to shut down. Symptoms include confusion, slurred speech, throbbing headache, rapid and strong pulse, fainting, or even loss of consciousness. Immediate medical treatment is needed if the person is confused or unresponsive, has a rapid pulse, or a body temperature of over 39 C.
Not drinking enough water daily increases the risk of becoming dehydrated. A simple way to check your levels of hydration is to observe your urine color. Urine that is dark yellow in color is a sign of dehydration, while urine that is pale yellow is a sign of being adequately hydrated. (Dark = Danger. Pale = Perfect.)
Water quality issues:
The better the quality of the water we drink, the less work our bodies have to do with toxins and contaminants.
South Africa is a water-scarce country and every drop counts. Unfortunately, the quality of municipal drinking water in South Africa has seen a significant decline over the past decade, with a concerning 46% of water supply systems that are microbiologically unsafe to drink, posing the risk of waterborne diseases from drinking the water. Of even greater concern is the large proportion, about 70%, of water supply systems from municipalities that failed chemical compliance, which indicates issues with the chemical composition of the drinking water.
The latest available information on the quality of municipal drinking water comes from three water auditing reports that the Department of Water and Sanitation published in 2023, resulting from water audits done at municipalities during 2022.
- The Blue Drop Report provides an assessment of drinking water quality, and the performance of water service authorities.
- The No Drop Report provides an assessment of non-revenue water, such as losses from leaking pipes, and non-payment by water users resulting from illegal water connections and the inability of the municipality to recoup the losses due to poor billing and revenue collection.
- The Green Drop Progress Assessment Report provides an update on the performance of wastewater management systems at municipalities.
The previous water auditing reports were published in 2014, and the 2023 reports show a disturbing decline in drinking water quality, an increase in non-revenue water, and a deterioration in the performance of municipal wastewater treatment systems.
The Blue Drop Report indicates that during 2022 it was not microbiologically safe to drink water in almost half (46%) of the country’s drinking water systems, which increases the risk of water-borne diseases such as chronic diarrhea and cholera. This shows a severe deterioration since 2014, when the percentage was 5%. A large number (70%) of water supply systems failed to achieve chemical compliance, which indicates issues with the chemical composition of the water. Drinking water systems in the major metropolitan areas in general performed well in the audit. At the other end of the scale, the Northern Cape had the highest percentage (87%) of drinking water systems with poor or critical performance. The report shows a deterioration in this regard from 48% to 87% for the Northern Cape and the Free State also showed a remarkable deterioration between 2014 (31%) and 2023 (59%).
The report indicates that the infrastructure of 85% of drinking water systems were in average or better condition, which suggests that factors such as a lack of skilled staff, and/or a lack of proper water treatment process controls, contribute to the audit results that 46% of water supply systems are microbiologically unsafe to drink.
Only 26 out of 958 water supply systems achieved Blue Drop certification, which indicates that they met 95% of the criteria to deliver clean, drinkable water. Top scorer in this regard was Cape Town, closely followed by Overstrand municipality. In 2014, 44 water supply systems were awarded Blue Drop status, indicating a significant deterioration since then.
The No Drop Report assesses the degree to which drinking water systems supply water efficiently, without wasting water. Non-revenue water increased from 37% in 2014 to 47% in 2023, resulting from physical losses such as water leaks from pipes, non-existent or poorly functioning water meters, illegal connections, and poor billing and revenue collection actions by municipalities. Only four water suppliers qualified for the prestigious No Drop Certification by scoring more than 90% on the criteria.
Municipalities buy treated water from water boards but if municipalities do not get revenue from that water, they are unable to pay the water boards and cannot afford to maintain and operate the water infrastructure.
The Green Drop Progress Assessment Report focusses on wastewater treatment works. The 2023 audit found that 64% of water suppliers are at a high or critical risk of discharging partially treated or even untreated water into the rivers and the environment. This has negative implications for the environment and poses the risk that wastewater pollution can affect human health through water-borne diseases.
In summary, the Blue and No Drop Reports indicate a decline in drinking water quality and an increase in non-revenue water since 2014. The Green drop report indicates a deterioration in the performance of municipal wastewater treatment systems.
The Department of Water and Sanitation identified the following underlying causes of poor performance in terms of the Drop Reports:
- Non-adherence to standard operating processes for drinking water treatment and wastewater treatment.
- Infrastructure is in poor condition due to a lack of maintenance.
- Causes are:
- Municipalities do not hire the necessary staff with the correct qualifications.
- Non-prioritizing of budgets for maintenance and operations by municipal councils.
- Weak billing and revenue collection.
- Poor municipal leadership and management.
- There is no legal requirement for municipalities to use revenue from the sale of water and from sanitation charges to fund the maintenance and operation of water and sanitation infrastructure.
- Vandalism and metal theft of infrastructure are an increasing cause of infrastructure failure, and this is partly the result of inadequate security being provided by municipalities.
It is advisable to regularly check the quality of the drinking water in your area, as the Department of Water and Sanitation provides monthly water quality data, received from municipalities, on its Integrated Regulatory Information Systems webpage, which can be assessed at ws.dws.gov.za/iris/mywater.aspx
The Department notes that some municipalities are unwilling to provide the information as it reflects badly on them.
Conclusions:
It is disheartening to see how the three separate water audit reports reveal the way a scarce resource is being fouled by sewage and other effluents running into rivers and the environment, wasted through pipe leakages or non-payment for water, and in virtually half the municipalities in the country, not treated to safe drinking standards.
Provided that it is safe to drink, water is very healthy with zero calories and no added sugar. It is essential for the body, keeping joints, bones, and teeth healthy, helping the blood circulate, and helping to maintain a healthy weight. Being well hydrated helps to improve mood, memory, and attention. Best of all – it is economical and much less expensive than sports drinks, sodas, and juice.
References:
Choose water for healthy hydration. Published online and updated 26 July 2024. Healthychildren.org. American Academy of Pediatrics. (www.healthychildren.org)
15 Benefits of drinking water. Published online and updated 28 August 2024. MedicalNewsToday. (www.medicalnewstoday.com)
7 Science-based health benefits of drinking enough water. Published online and medically reviewed 8 March 2023. Healthline. (www.healthline.com)
Why drinking water is the way to go. Published online and medically reviewed March 2022. Nemours Kids Health. Nemours Foundation. USA. (www.kidshealth.org)
7 reasons why you need to be hydrated. Published online and reviewed 19 November 2024. Health for Teens. UK. (www.healthforteens.co.uk)
Why it is important for you to drink water and stay hydrated. Published 21 July 2022. UC Davis Health. Medical Center, School of Medicine, and Nursing. University of California. USA. (www.health.ucdavis.edu)
How much water should you drink? Published 22 May 2022. Harvard Health Publishing. Harvard Medical School. (www.health.harvard.edu)
The science of hydration: How water impacts the body. Published July 2021 in The Physiologist Magazine. American Physiological Society. (www.physiology.org)
The human body and water. Published online. Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co.Ltd. Japan. (www.otsula.co.jp)
Water and Sanitation releases 2023 full Blue Drop Report. Published 5 December 2023. Department of Water and Sanitation. South African Government. (www.gov.za)
Severe decline in drinking water quality. Published 6 December 2023. Mail & Guardian. (www.mg.co.za)
Official reports reveal massive scale of the waste, pollution, and poorly treated water crisis. Published 5 December 2023. Daily Maverick. (www.dailymaverick.co.za)
HEALTH INSIGHT
April 2025