“Any measure of a successful society — low mortality, economic diversity, productivity, and public safety — is in some way related to access to safe water. Every day, safe water is available for eating and cooking, bathing, clothes washing, and a myriad of other purposes”(MMW, 2017). In America where water is at just about every turn of a facet, we don’t always think about how fortunate we are to have amazing access to water. Subsequently, we are much less likely to think about what’s in our water. The Milwaukee area has a few different concerns pertaining to the water quality which effects Milwaukee area residents, lakes and rivers. Milwaukee water quality influences a large population of people since the City of Milwaukee-owned public utility …show more content…
Through the efforts of the Water Council, Milwaukee was awarded United Nations Global Compact City status, one of only 17 cities worldwide and the second in the U.S. to achieve this designation” (VISIT Milwaukee, 2018). In the seriousness of diminishing water quality, “In 2006, Milwaukee Riverkeeper established a network of trained citizen-science volunteers who monitor streams and rivers throughout the Milwaukee River Basin during the months of May through October. Our volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program is part of the statewide Water Action Volunteers (WAV) Stream Monitoring Program managed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) and University of Wisconsin-Extension (UWEX)”(Milwaukee RiverKeeper, 2017). “The Milwaukee Water Works (MWW) is recognized as a national leader for providing safe, high-quality drinking water, and for our water quality monitoring program. We treat Lake Michigan water with ozone disinfection, biologically active filtration, and chloramine disinfection. Since 1993, the Milwaukee Water Works has invested $508 million in its infrastructure, to ensure a reliable supply of pure, safe drinking water” (MWW, …show more content…
None have been found in Milwaukee’s drinking water. Milwaukee was also in compliance five years ahead of time with new EPA regulations to control disinfection byproducts. Voluntary testing for chromium-6 began in January 2011” (MWW, 2018). Exceptionally, the Milwaukee area has deeply invested and demonstrated innovation in raising water quality overall, but there are still ways we can raise the water quality, especially for inner city residences that may be affected by water quality that may not have the necessary funds to cope with any repercussion of bad water
In the article, “How Tap Water Became Toxic in Flint, Michigan,” the authors from CNN, Sara Ganim and Linh Tran, discussed about how Flint’s water became toxic after the state decided to switch their water supply source due to financial issues. The state switched their water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River. Moreover, after the switch, many residents began to notice a change in their water. For example, one of the residents expressed, “the water started to look, smell and taste funny..it often looked dirty..the water would come in brown..”(Ganim and Tran).
When complaints about the quality of water began just weeks after the Flint River was “online”, both Governor Walling and emergency manager Early responded with claims that the water was safe to drink. In the following months, when Flint’s water tested positive for harmful pathogens and TTHM (a chemical linked to liver, kidney and nervous system disorders as well as several types of cancer), DSWD offered to forfeit a 4 million dollar reconnection fee and supply water for the citizens of Flint once again. This offer was ignored by emergency managers and city council, who instead decided to hire a water quality consultant to remedy the situation. (“How the Flint Water Crisis Emerged” slide 11 and 13). Throughout this crisis, one poor decision after another was made by city officials that ultimately caused the crisis in Flint. Residents and news media alike have voiced their distrust of these leaders and have called for resignations at all levels of city and even state
The forty one % of the a 100,000 residents who are living in Michigan exist under or on the nation’s poverty line which makes this a socio-political hassle as much as it's an environmental one (Foley). Indeed, the town absolutely used to be stimulated to make the water switch over within the first place with the aid of economic issues which held that an upgraded water useful resource could make critical upgrades within the city’s strained finances. Unluckily, the economic maneuver has ended up costing them a couple of million extra dollars than it saved. It's this financial difference that definitely contributed to the failing of the state authorities to adequately tackle the issues within the time and manner because of the danger inherent to the infection.
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.
I have also found different resources that we can use to be able to lend a hand to everyone who is trying to protect the beautiful state of Michigan from it’s ever dirtying waters. The first major issue for our water is none other than our wonderful friend, sewage. This is not a new problem for us, we’ve been dealing with it since we first started using indoor plumbing in the late 1800s. Unfortunately, Michigan has yet to find ways to fix the problem.
The Flint, Michigan water crisis is one of the worst water contamination crises to exist in the United States today. In April of 2014, in order to save money, the city of Flint began to draw water from the local river instead of purchasing Lake Huron water from Detroit. The residents noticed that the physical appearance in the quality of water was poor. The water had an odd and questionable colors of shades of blue, green, beige, brown, and yellow. The smell resembled that of gasoline or fish. After consuming the water, residents began to notice burning skin, rashes hand tremors, hair loss, and even seizures. The contaminated water affected nearly 100,000 people and four years later, the problems still exist even with funded projects to resolve
What is the first thing you think of when someone mentions Idaho? Potatoes, right? What about Florida, do oranges come to mind? Universally, Michigan is known for the Great Lakes. Given the fact that the Michigan Great Lakes are the largest supply of fresh water on earth, it is unimaginable that Flint residents are in the midst of a water crisis (“Great Lakes”). The Flint water crisis was man-made and potentially poisoned 100,000 people; tragically, it will affect the city of Flint as well as these people for years to come. This crisis could have been prevented by remaining with the Detroit Water and Sewage Department, (DWSD), including an anti-corrosive additive to the water, and systematically replacing the aging lead pipe infrastructure.
Imagine living in an area where tap water looked darker than a glass of cola. Imagine living in an area where water that looked and smelled like sewage earned the name of “the most expensive water in the nation.” Imagine living in an area where poisoned and carcinogenic water was unwittingly being sold to residents. This is what the residents of Flint, Michigan have, and are still, facing since 2014. Flint, Michigan, a city earning fourth place on “America’s Most Dangerous Cities” by Forbes.com, is facing trouble distributing clean water to residents, something many Americans take for granted. After a cost-cutting switch from water sources, residents have been bombarded with various health and financial damages.
In April, 2014, Flint’s state-appointed emergency manager changed the city’s water supply from Detroit’s Lake Huron treated water with anti-corrosives to water from Flint River, in a poorly thought out cost-saving maneuver. They did not add anti-corrosives to the Flint system, as that would have cost $100/day.
The Flint Water Crisis began in April 2014 when the city switched its water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River as a cost-saving measure. However, several environmental disasters (from automakers, chemical, coal and agriculture industries) over the course of century played a systemic role in contamination of the Flint River for a prolonged period of time, leading to this current tragedy [Wahowiak,2016]. In 2011 a study found that in order for the Flint River water to be considered potable, it would need to be treated with an anti-corrosion agent which would cost the state about hundred dollars per day and could have prevented ninty percent of Flint’s water problems [Silverman]. However, in 2014, the water source was switched to the Flint River without any pre-water treatment. The switch was meant to be a temporary solution until the state-run supply line to Lake Huron was ready for connection in about two years.
With so many residents and so much water within the vicinity of the city limits Chicago as a city would has quite a large supply of water available for consumption. A large facility that is able to validate or stabilize a healthy PH balance, remove toxins and aquatic life is imperative to ensuring that water is healthy for consumption, bathing and other uses. Water is also likely recycled after disposal from toileting, bathing and other methods that lead to water going in the sewer systems. Related, with American’s in general due to pop culture becoming more and more interested in conservation and self-reliance. It seems only natural that a number of Chicagoans are
In today’s society, clean water is taken for granted by many individuals. Like many other luxuries, safe drinking water is not recognized until it is unavailable. Unfortunately, this became the reality for many americans living in Flint, Michigan around August 2014. This problem arose shortly after the government switched the county’s water supply. Therefore, many believe that the government was the source of this major crisis. However, the government has also taken many actions, such as new regulations and procedures, in attempting to solving this crisis.
According to Water.org 844 million people living without access to clean water, the threat of unsafe water seems like a problem only faced in lesser developed countries. Recent Agricultural and human activities are causing this threat in local rivers. This is causing many environmental and safety issues in Iowa. High levels of Nitrogen and Phosphorus are contaminating local rivers across the state.
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
The clean drinking water supplied to millions of people and wildlife species are at serious risk.