The Effects Of Drinking Water On The United States

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

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 January of 2015, Flint was found to be in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act after disinfection byproducts were detected at alarming rates (NPR, 2016). Water was somehow still deemed safe for consumption, as the city was very passive in its advisories. Although E. coli, coliform bacteria, and disinfection byproducts were very serious and harmful substances found in the water supply, they would not be the main issue.

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.

The more polluted a water source is, the more processing required to make the water safe to drink. Most of the contaminants now in Flint’s drinking water were introduced during or after processing. For all drinking water, the first concern is bacteria, which can cause diseases like hepatitis, Legionnaire’s disease, and other illnesses. Because Flint’s river water had high levels of bacteria, it was treated with additional chlorine. Chlorine reacts with organic material in the water to produce carcinogenic byproducts such as trihalomethanes; it also makes water more acidic, which corrodes pipes. Federal law mandates adding anti-corrosive agents to drinking water in large cities; this standard water treatment practice was not followed (Carmody, 2016). The water created issues with lead due to its high acidity. Water service connections have been made for years using lead piping primarily in the 1920s and 1930s. The acidic water corroded the old lead pipes and lead seeped into the water. Lead poisoning is the most widespread and serious health problem associated with Flint’s drinking water; children with prolonged exposure to lead experience a range of developmental problems that are incurable. Flint’s water-treatment staff were not able to successfully make Flint River water safe to drink. Whether this is because they were undertrained, understaffed, or simply made a decision not to invest scarce

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

Of the 43 million people who use private water wells in the U.S., it is estimated that 20% of them are drinking from water sources with contaminants capable of harming human health. What is the end result? An insidious water system, only growing in its abilities to trigger a catastrophe. Flint provides us with a glimpse of what may be the new normal: thousands of children poisoned from lead-contaminated water, hundreds of thousands of citizens dependent on expensive bottled water, and a government that has refused to be accountable every step of the

Africa, Haiti, and other smaller third world countries have always experienced the issue of having a lack of or contamination of water. As Americans, we always here about the struggles for food and water all across the world but more recently within our own borders. A little over a year ago today the city of Flint, Michigan was struck by a water crisis. The first thing residents noticed after the Flint River began flowing through their taps were the colors. The color was constantly changing blue one day than you began to see tints of green and sometimes even some brown. Next came the smell the Flint people said that it was

In the United States we often take our tap water for granted and we seriously shouldn’t. In 2001 a study called What’s on Tap? was released by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) , a carefully researched, well-documented, and peer-reviewed study of 19 U.S cities. Alarming results found that pollution and deteriorating out-of-date plumbing are sometimes delivering unsafe drinking water to the population.

More than two billion people rely on their wells to get them clean water, but the wells are not getting clean water of what the people need. The water problem was made by man not nature. Humans have been are fracturing for many years. Fracturing makes the water turn a different call and kills or food. There was an devastation in Haiti that made the water bad. It was an earthquake so mother nature did that one. Although most people in the world rely on their wells, the united states are taking access to clean drinking water for granted and underdeveloped country, the united states are trying to reduce that by reducing disease, increase employment, and kids will get an education because water will be available. Here is

Here on planet earth things are steadily growing, changing and becoming faster right before our eyes. Here in America, it's hard to remember the daily struggles in other countries as we're so wrapped up in ourselves. These problems are happening daily and we don't even realize it, but one day it will catch up to us. These problems include the massive increase in population, will there be enough food, and will there be enough water for future generations? The population is growing by 80 million each year, 220,00 each day, and with that comes the demand for water, which doubles every 20 years. Though the planet contains a massive amount of water, approximately 97% is undrinkable seawater and another 2% is in the ice caps. We're in danger of many

health and are known or anticipated to occur in water from public water systems.” (United

As stated by, Alexander, “Let’s not frack things up” there was exemption created by the 2005 Energy act which remains free from most federal environmental regulations, including the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Each state in the U.S has decreed its own laws to

These initiatives of people who are looking to ensure safe water is continuously looked over by larger groups of people and acts such as the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, Safe Drinking Water Act, and even people like the Natural resources Conservation Service and the Environmental Protection Agency. What people sometimes forget is that under these acts, while there are people who are looking to help support these initiatives, the people who embrace the world must practice better strategies that will embrace these acts and support groups to help ensure that water will be safe for drinking. Many people forget that water is not just a free good to us for use at any time, because if the water supply were to ever be completely damaged and polluted, the outreach for fresh, safe water to drink would be minimal, therefore a struggle for people in America as well as around the world. Water is arguably the most important natural resource to us here on Earth and should not be used and abused. There are several different things that people can work towards to help make things better.

And drinking water is the story of humanity’s future. The greatest threat to human well-being in the world today is not climate change, AIDS, or warfare. Unsafe drinking water is the single largest killer in the world. Roughly half of the developing world suffers from illnesses caused by contaminated water supplies. No surprise, then, that the history of drinking water highlights the most pressing issues of our time from globalization, social justice, and commerce to terrorism, national security, and technology.