Safe Drinking Amendments

To understand the current state of the safe water issue for our First Nation people, it is important to look at some current statistics. The Council of Canadians (2015) reports that “as of January 2015, there have been 169 drinking water advisories in 126 First Nation communities. With Ontario having the highest number 79, followed by British Columbia 35, Saskatchewan 24, Alberta 17, the Atlantic 7 and Quebec 2.” (p. 6) The graphic below helps us see the severity of the issue by showing the drinking water

Drinking water provided by a municipality, “tap”, is regulated by the EPA. Additionally, the Safe Water Drinking Act requires all states submit annual reports regarding public water system violations to the EPA. The EPA determines Maximum Contaminant Level Goals (MCLGs) for tap water. The goals are the levels at which a consumer could perceivably drink

The river had a reputation for nastiness, and after the April 2014 switch, residents complained their water looked, smelled and tasted funny” (McLaughlin). With the citizen’s public water being contaminated, they need clean water. Through bottled water, the residents can get the clean water they need to survive. Other major natural disasters the bottled water aided in were Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami of Japan a few years ago. Natural disasters are liable to strike at any moment and bottled water is there to help the victims if their water is contaminated or if there is no tap water available.

According to the Canadian Council of Social Justice, poor water quality and unsanitary living conditions have cause over 1000 residents to be evacuated in some cases and over 21 communities are considered high-risk for water contamination (Safe Water for First Nations, n.d.). There are different levels of risk within the accessible water issue which are a boil water advisory, do not consume and advisory (Eggerston, 2015). Within Ontario specifically, there were 158 water systems that were tested and 46% were considered high-risk and 16% are low overall risk (Dupont et al., 2014). Within in Canada there is a slew of

“Access to safe water is a fundamental human need and, therefore, a basic human right. Contaminated water jeopardizes both the physical and social health of all people. It is an affront to human dignity.” — Kofi Annan, prior United Nations Secretary-General

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.

In the fourth chapter, “Fouling Our Own Nests,” of Unquenchable: America’s Water Crisis and What to do About It, Robert Glennon discusses the dangers of water contamination that plague many parts of the United States. His main claim that water pollution requires the help of the entire population stems from an unmentioned warrant: contaminating the national water supply with chemicals from individual communities and industries is detrimental to American society. In order to strengthen his argument, Glennon showcases the impacts of local contamination issues on larger populations and utilizes quantitatively intimidating statistics to solidify his position and inspire his readers to fight for better water regulation.

In the United States, the available water resources is also under assault. Half of water collected and stored by existing infrastructure is usually used in the production of electricity. This forces the population to use and divide what little there is left. This has always been a “good enough” approach until now, when water prices and population is on the rise.(3) There are already calls for charging water resources in order to increase efficiency of use.(3) Water protection is already being carried out and has been for years, but there is still water pollution occurring within the United States. After the Civil war, America strived to provide its population with clean water

Globally, over seven hundred and eighty-three million people do not have access to clean water (The Water Project, 2016). Millions of people have to struggle endlessly to fill up pails of water for themselves and their families; however, this does not happen in America. Water contamination and access, or lack thereof, is a third world issue. The United States is a global empire, wealthy, and the land of opportunity; Flint, Michigan became a local cesspool, impoverished, and without basic drinking water. The visual of desolate villagers walking miles for water is not the universal or unique image anymore. The ordinary town of Flint became a national icon for water scarcity and paranoia. Water contamination, disease outbreak and widespread panic

made to ensure that the province’s water supply is safe. Mr. Newman, at the Ontario

The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) define the (MCLG) as a minimum level of a contaminant or pollutant concentration in the drinking water below which there is no harmful effect or expected risk to human health. Also, (MCLG) is non-enforceable public health goal. As for (MCL) is the maximum level of a contaminant or pollutant concentration that is permissible in the drinking water. Also, (MCL) is enforceable standard that is set as close to the (MCLG) as possible, by using the best available treatment technology (to ensure control of a contaminant) and taking cost into the consideration. It is good to know, that the contaminant concentration will contain all inorganic substance, organic substance, and microorganism.

-The primary aim of the research article is to see how the use of alcohol increases in adolescents based on the factors of masculine norms and peer pressure.

Eighteen-year olds throughout the United States are considered legal adults in almost every way, with one notable exception: the privilege of having an alcoholic beverage.

Have you ever wondered if our drinking water is actually safe to drink? The topic of safe drinking water according to my research isn’t a topic that it’s given that much attention even though there have been events and statistics that have impacted our drinking water. There have been important events such as the chemical spill in Charleston, West Virginia and the ash sludge in Kingston Tennessee in 2008, these kind of events even though they have happen a few years ago still have an impact on our drinking water today. Lauren Russell is an important person because she stated that climate change is another factor that can affect our drinking water because it can impact the quality of the water since climate change is a main world problem it affects everyone 's drinking water. Another big factor of drinking water is what kind of chemicals are in our water that makes it safe for us to drink? I feel like people and I should be informed of the risks that human and natural disasters can do to our sites that we get our drinking water from. And we should also be inform if the chemicals that they put in our drinking water are one hundred percent safe. The reason why I chose this topic is because water is a necessity for every human so if we all get informed about this topic we can enforce better laws that can ensure us the best water quality for us to drink.

Every day Americans depend on public water systems to treat and deliver over 44 billion gallons of water to homes daily (“Importance of Clean Water”). However, Americans