The Importance Of Minnesota's Ability To Clean Water

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.

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 Midwestern region of the United States, such a small corner of the world, is notorious for its prosperous agriculture and its abundant livestock population. Citizens of the Midwest, and consequently, the United States, rarely have to worry about where meals will come from or when the next time water will be available. Water fountains are a common sight within public places, specifically schools and workplaces, and each system reliably produces water at the touch of a button, every time, without fail. However, what happens when the dependability of water in the Midwest is compromised? Over the past decade, the water quality in Flint, Michigan, a town very close to Iowan homes, has seen a rapid decadence, given that the Flint River has been exposed to “the presence of fecal coliform bacteria, low dissolved oxygen, plant nutrients, oils, and other toxic substances,” though the main focus has

Let’s start out with the pollutants in this water. There was a surprising amount of pollution found downriver of Sioux Falls, the largest city in South Dakota. It makes sense that more pollutants would be coming from more heavily populated areas, but it doesn’t change the fact that it is harming all those around it. It is thought that a lot of this pollution is coming from the city waste

This poisoning can affect the general health of a population. Unsafe water can lead to an increase in health problems, such as cancer. This can cause many case managers focusing on access to health care and treatments. Many of these health problems will result in end-of-life case management. Contaminated water can also cause physical and intellectual developmental delays.

Water pollution, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund, “happens when toxic substances enter water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans and so on, getting dissolved in them, lying suspended in the water or depositing on the bed.”1 In 1948, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act was passed by congress, but was later amended in 1972 in response to great public outcry—this amended document is what is now known as the Clean Water Act.2 Despite these national efforts, in a report released by the Environment America Research & Policy Center in 2014, Virginia was listed as one of the top five states with the largest discharge of toxic substances into waterways, documented at over eleven million pounds.3 Furthermore, in a 2014 report conducted by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, it was found that the water pollution has spread throughout sixteen-thousand miles of the state’s rivers.4

Contaminated water poses health risks on humans, pets, wild animals, and farm animals. (Mcdermott-Levy 2013)

The chemicals found in water can be dangerous toward our health. We live near the Great Lakes which supplies 20% of the World’s fresh water. It also has chemicals that threaten the life evolving around the fresh water. There are medical drugs that are being introduced to the fresh water lakes. Stuff like antibiotics and steroids. These pharmaceuticals are posing danger for the environment. This could affect the lake life,s growth.

The freshwater that is available for use is becoming more contaminated with each use. The Clean Water Act of 1972 put in order more regulations in regards to wastewater and the dumping of it into rivers and lakes. Multiple-step filtration systems have been used since then to better remove toxins from wastes before it enters freshwater. In a personal interview with Moe Crabtree, Nature Resource Specialist for the Washington Department of Natural Resources, I learned some measures taken to keep water clean. Her common job is to setup timber sales which includes much precaution of rivers and streams. I asked her- “In what ways do you have to avoid water contamination?” she replied, “we have to divert culverts at minimum one hundred feet from

Clean water is both a necessary part of continued human survival as well as an economic good , and planning for its continued use is an important part of maintaining a healthy society. The Great Lakes, which contain 21% of the world’s fresh surface water, are a critical water source in the American Midwest and Canada. While Lake Erie is the smallest of these lakes in terms of its water volume, it still is important for the large population living in its watershed. Approximately twelve million people, one third of the total population of the entire Great Lakes basin, live in the over 20,000 miles of Lake Erie’s watershed (Environmental Protection Agency, 2015).

Water contamination in America has been caused by numerous things that we do on the everyday Bases before we rest around evening time. For instance Driving, Placing oil in the auto , tossing unfilled jug, manufacturing plants that work regular in morning the significant reason for contamination to america soil, there are 43 thousand of plant in america that work ordinary and evenings.Without sound water for drinking, cooking, angling, and cultivating, humankind would die. Clean water is additionally fundamental for recreational interests, for example, swimming, drifting, and water skiing. However, when Congress started surveying national water quality amid the mid 1970s, it found that a great part of the nation's groundwater and surface water

Water pollution is when, “one or more substances have built up in the water to such an extent that they cause problems for animals and people” (Woodford). Water pollution is also bad for humans and animal’s health. Sewage, chemicals, radioactive waste, oil pollution, and plastic, are some causes for water pollution (Explain That Stuff). When water from rain runs off roofs and roads into rivers it carries away trash, toxic chemicals, dirt, and harmful organisms (NRDC Water). Some solutions to these are to throw things into the correct bin, use water wisely, and not throw chemicals, oil, paints, and medicine down the sink, drain, or toilet. Also plant lots of trees and have cities develop a sewage treatment plant to minimize pollution (eSchool Today). It’s important to protect our

any countries in the world are short of precious water. Given that water is so essential to everyday activities, such as cooking,washing, and growing crops, without the quality of water can affect our nation, even causing economic or social instability. The cdc estimates 780 million people around the world,more than 1 in 10, do not have access to an improved water source one that is protected from outside contaminants.

The one thing humans need on this planet to survive is water. If we need water to survive, then why are polluting it? Most of our nation’s waterways are in terrible condition because of the pollution in the water. Water pollution not only can cause illnesses, but also deaths for humans. Humans aren’t the only thing that water pollution causes harm to. It is also hurting our ecosystem. Humans are the leading cause of most water pollution. We keep throwing wastes into the water making the water unsafe for humans to drink. Scientists are coming up with ways for humans to decrease the amount of wastes they are putting in the water. We need to stop polluting the one thing that keeps us alive.