Cleaning Up The Philadelphia Sewage Systems

In “Picking Up” Robin Nagle enthusiastically describes why New York City’s Department of Sanitation is so significant to our day to day city life. This department picks up about 11,000 tons of trash as well as 2,000 tons of recycling daily. If it was not for them the city would be completely unlivable. As the anthropologist-in-residence for New York City's Department of Sanitation, Robin Nagle explains with many explanations why The Department of Sanitation is so vital and why they are just as important as any police officer or fireman out there. If it was not for those men and woman who remove our trash and recyclables, our city would be completely over run with trash. Not only is this completely disgusting, but there are so many diseases

In order to have a thriving and healthy society a clean water supply is a very simple but necessary resource. Dating back to the beginning of civilizations the need for clean water was an essential need. The Clean Water Act dates to Franklin D Roosevelt’s administration. In 1972 Congress amended and passed what is now known as the Clean Water Act to protect our precious resource of water. The clean water Act prevented the dumping of pollutants into navigable waters without a permit. Many municipalities and commercial entities had previously dumped sewage and unregulated waste in to our rivers and streams contaminating a great percentage of our drinking water. This wreck less contamination of our waterways not only affected humans but also affected our wildlife including fish and animal’s life that depended on these waters. Any municipality or company that could affect our waters would need to apply for a permit to do so. While the Clean Water Act was a landmark legislation that was supported by both Democrats and Republicans alike over the years has seen expansion of the EPA’s interpretation of the law and has created a controversy in Administrative Law that has many challenges up to the Unites States Supreme Court. (Television, n.d.)

Water is one of life’s most precious resources. Without it, life as we know it would cease to exist. Almost all life is dependent on water for survival. Humanity uses water in almost everything they do in their daily lives, whether that be for consumption or production. However water itself is not enough to sufice, clean water is required for life to thrive. Dirty untreated water can be the cause for death as well, so it is integral that water be kept clean. The government has enacted laws to ensure that our water is maintained and kept clean. These laws cover industries, plumbing, and sanitation among other things. Unfortunately, the city government in Flint Michigan willfully failed to provide safe water for its citizens.

This paper will inform the reader why the Delaware River was polluted and how it is being solved. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is trying to clean up all rivers and lakes to make sure that every waterway in America is healthy and not harmful to humans or animals. With the coordination of the EPA, and the Delaware County Regional Water Quality Control Authority (DELCORA) are trying to fix the problems that have occurred over years that humans have been around the Delaware River. The use of a Combined Sewer Overflow Program also known as a CSO is very important for the protection of drinking water in major cities including New York City and Philadelphia. The toxic chemical levels are at an all-time high making this one of the dirtiest rivers in North America. This paper will talk about what results were received from the multiple tests that were taken from multiple sites along the Delaware River and its tributaries. Also, what solutions are being used to solve the problem that is at hand to make sure the public has knowledge of the toxic levels in the water and to make sure that everyone including the animals nearby have clean and safe drinking water?

This situation may arise if humanity does not take steps to mend its polluting tendencies. To begin with, each individual should focus on decontaminating his or her nearest water body. For those living in Delaware, the nearest major water body is the Delaware River, which is in dire need of reform. “The Delaware River, . . . is the fifth most-polluted river in the country, according to a report released . . . by Environment New Jersey” (Augenstein). However, this issue did not arise spontaneously. A recognized problem by the early eighteenth century, Delaware River pollution remained a serious issue for the next 300 years. This mostly originated from rapid population growth and booming industrial activities (“Delaware River Water Quality”). As the years progressed, Delawareans continuously disregarded the Delaware River, and now it is immensely polluted due to an accumulation of neglect for the river. Residents polluted the river without repercussions until the river’s deterioration began to adversely affect them. Because of this, Delaware waters continued to befoul past the line of safety. “Severe pollution was most evident by the prevalence of waterborne illnesses and in the sharp decline of migratory fish populations” (“Delaware River Water Quality”). Delaware waterways are currently unsafe for commercial use due to the presence of pollutants and parasites like Giardia and Cryptosporidium in the water. These can cause significant health problems, especially in

These cleanups are required by federal and state laws passed in the last two decades mostly in response to public concern that drinking contaminated ground water may cause cancer or other illnesses. The laws require that, in most instances, the contaminated ground water be restored to a condition that meets state and federal drinking water standards. Businesses and government agencies paying for the cleanups are calling for reconsideration of whether returning all contaminated ground water to drinking water standards is a realistic goal. At the same time, public interest groups are advocating maximum protection of the public's right to a safe water supply in places where there is

Living in Philadelphia, one of the largest and most known cities in America, you see many things going on around you that are just not right. One of the worst things about Philadelphia though is all of the garbage in and around the city. For my research topic I am doing littering as a major problem in my community. I chose this topic because a city that is labeled as so “important” should be taken care of and respected. As the home of the Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross, William Penn, and the stomping grounds for the Founding Fathers we have failed our city as a community.

People all around the world are beginning to recognize the importance of sustainability and how it is the key to future generations. Because the human ecological footprint is reaching the point of limitation, it is necessary that we adapt and develop more efficient, sustainable communities. Due to improper waste treatment and disposal practices, many cities today face the problem of relying on heavily contaminated and polluted sources of water. This problem often arises when pollutants and particulates find their ways into lakes, underground reservoirs, and other accessible water sources. The city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is just one example of how this problem is evolving and may do well to serve as a model for future water management plans. This essay will go over several causes of Pittsburgh’s current state of affair, but most importantly provide Pittsburgh with a guideline to conquer its water issue. The following solution is a four-step process which incorporates a combination of restructuring and reorganizing Pittsburgh’s wastes management. It is designed to address poor water quality but providing gradual steps and alterations to Pittsburgh’s current system of treatment and planning. In the end, this remedy will point the city towards healthier water supplies and overall sustainability.

The pollution is created from fertilizers in privately owned yards and agriculture washing out into the river as well as inadequate waste water treatment facilities. The fix to these issues the Clean Water Act of 1972 was passed for the surface waters after

After washing your hands there is not much thought to what happens to the dirty water. It goes down the drain and it is gone. Living in Canada is extremely fortunate as it has the most fresh water supply but with the increase of urban settings, toxins, and pollution, this “endless” fresh water supply is declining. A major issue is how to treat waste safely so that it does not affect the environment, or public health. The waterfront water treatment facility has run into constant bypassing issues which prevents water to be properly treated. Bypass water is excess flow discharge from water treatment plants when it reaches capacity. Untreated polluted water is dumped into the waterfront of Toronto which is progressively getting worse due to

The city of Huron public works department focuses more on the water treatment plant than any other part of the city. The water treatment plant is over 45 years old; the plant constructed was in 1970. The city of Huron has not spent the amount of money that is necessary to keep the water treatment plant up to date. The plant has several rusted pipes, which can and have been bursting and leaking a lot of water. The population of the city of Huron went up 8% from 2013 to 2014, which means that there is going to be more at least 8% more consumption or use of water. When the water treatment

Most homeowners don't put a whole lot of thought into their septic system because it quietly works, day in and day out, to process waste. That is, however, until a problem arises that needs immediate attention. Lack of maintenance can cause your septic system to fail, costing you thousands of dollars, threaten the health of your family and even affect the value of your property and those around it.

People will become more cognizant of these issues and perhaps cease their habits of littering. My reporting is not to make people think that the entire city of Philadelphia is raunchy and gross, but that certain places in the city could use some improvements. It has come to my attention that people see Philadelphia has ghetto and dirty. I think Philadelphia should form more cleaning groups made up of young people who are willing to help the community. This can help the youth, particularly teenagers, to be aware of littering and travel to different places in the city. Likely, these teenagers would stop littering themselves. This has a positive effect on the future of our country. In my opinion, to enhance the success of the cleanup movements, the delegates in the convention should give a motivating speech on his or her opinions, ideas, and solutions on pollution. Future leaders, like the delegates, can encourage people to work hard to reduce

A raw sewage spill inside your home or business can happen to anyone at anytime with catastrophic consequences. If it happened to you, you need to act fast. Many causes send sewage into a structure like floods, earthquakes, fires, and other misfortunes. Once the problem is found and repairs are made, you’re left with the muck and the smell. Raw sewage is dangerous, contaminating everything it touches and making the air hazardous to breathe.

While municipal water systems chemically treat water for microorganisms, it does not remove sediment, solids, chemicals, pesticides, and heavy metals like arsenic or lead, or other contaminates. Only water filtration can provide clean, pure water that is free of contaminants.