Water Pollution For Drinking Water

However, Edward’s contract was not renewed after this complaint. (Paynter 94) Soon after, the Washington Post exposed this cover up to the public. (Paynter 94) As a result of this exposed story, the EPA advised people to flush their water lines. (Paynter 94) However, the EPA’s health advice “actually increased [lead] exposure” (Paynter 94) to the whole water line. Soon after, congressional investigations found that “hundreds, maybe thousands, of children had been affected [because] municipal authority in DC had disregarded test results for years” (Paynter 94). This catastrophe is almost similar to the situation that occurred in Flint. It was a result of government back tracking and ignoring common warning signs. However, this occurred during 2003, before the massive explosion of mobile devices and the Internet. There was little public response unlike the incident in Flint that occurred a decade later.

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 probably the most important resource we as people have. Humans can survive without food for several weeks, but without water we would die in less than a week. On a slightly less dramatic note, millions of liters of water are needed every day worldwide for washing, irrigating crops, and cooling industrial processes, not to mention leisure industries such as swimming pools and water-sports centers. Despite our dependence on water, we use it as a dumping ground for all sorts of waste, and do very little to protect the water supplies we have.

Resident Bethany Hazard states that when she filled up her water from the faucet it came out not only brown but smelling of a sewer (Semuels). The river itself has been a source of considerable pollution with a dead body being found in the river in addition to an abandoned car as well as abnormally high levels of trihamlomethanes, and copper (Semuels). The mere fact, however, that such findings were only accidentally leaked underscores a lack of concern for the safety of Flint’s residents. The first tests on the water confirmed that indeed, something was quite wrong. The Environmental Protection Agency, for instance, leaked in a memo that in the water were trace amounts of the E. Coli bacteria, a serious health hazard for people of all ages

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.

The people of Flint did not keep their mouths shut when they seen all the worrisome problems that popped up. Flint can thank one woman in particular for bringing the nation’s attention to what was happening. LeeAnne Walters is a thirty-seven year old mother of four who was not going to sit around while her family was withering away. She knew there was a serious problem not being dealt with in the summer of 2014. Her three-year-old twins got a rash when they had a bath. She could no longer leave them in the tub to soak. One of her twins had extreme reactions to the water. Gavin’s skin would become scaly and red where the water line stopped. Later her water turned brown and her family avoided tap water as much as possible. The twins got a bath in bottled water each week and bath with baby wipes the other days. Over time, the symptoms slowly disappeared (Lurie). Simple tasks like brushing their teeth, bathing, and cooking were incredibly complicated and expensive. Gavin and Garrett were not the only ones being affected. Her son had numerous trips to the hospital for abdominal pain, all the members of her family were losing hair, and at one point she lost her eyelashes. In January 2015, Flint declared that the city's water had dangerous levels of trihalomethanes. That came from the disinfectant that was supposed to treat the water. Exposure to these chemicals can cause liver, kidney, and nervous system

The issue is that people can't drink this water because the governor stopped doing the same process of cleaning the water . He wanted to save money and because of this he forgot to add a major chemical in the water. People had concerns about this water but the governor really didn't pay no mind to them , he just told them don't worry the water is safe keep drinking it not knowing

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).

River water near the spill showed elevated levels of lead and thallium, Mercury and arsenic cadmium and lead exceeding Clean Water Act standards designed to protect aquatic life as well as humans who come in contact with the water. Which can cause birth defects and nervous and reproductive system disorders?

On January 9, Charleston, West Virginia residents began to smell a strong odor in the air. There were several complaints and something was obviously wrong. Inspectors soon came upon a 40,000 gallon tank that had been leaking from a chemical storage unit. The object was an oily substance. It had run into the Elk River just upstream from an intake of a drinking water supply for 300,000 people. The chemical that leaked into the river was used for washing mined coal. “ At 6 p.m., after residents had been using their tap water all day, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency, ordering people in nine counties not to drink, cook with or bathe in the contaminated water.” (Weeks) If there isn't any water to drink from the faucet then how do you get any water? People quickly went for stores to get bottles of water so they could at least drink. After some test the government said the water was okay to use. Yet people were still filling up the hospital with unknown rashes, nausea, and other symptoms. The spill revealed the flaws and uncertainty of the federal and state laws. This time the water linked the people of Charleston to the government. The government didn't take the right precautions and told the people the water was safe to drink. But people kept getting sick. So they thought maybe there is still something wrong in the water and then told people that the water might not be very

For the past three years Flint, Michigan has been making headlines due to what seems like a never-ending water crisis. One day their water seems to be just fine, but then all of a sudden it’s contaminated and dirty; full of lead and fecal particles which will slowly begin to harm more people than imaginable. Hospital admissions skyrocket, school attendance numbers began to drop, and more and more adults are calling off of work because they’ve fallen ill. People begin to go without showers to help keep them “safe” from contamination, bottled water is now being used for not only drinking but also showering, mixing baby formulas, watering plants, etc. Major cost-cutting measures led to contaminated drinking water, lifelong health effects, and

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.

Incidents such as the May 2000 contamination at Walkerton, Ontario, which resulted in widespread illness and loss of life, have raised public awareness of the risks of poor water quality. After debate over the issue of water export, the Canadian government acted to prohibit bulk water removal from natural

The water crisis in Flint, Michigan shocked and outraged many Americans. It was true, a simple water source change from one source to another in the city of Flint turned into a State of Emergency as declared by the governor. Toxic water from the Flint River had filtered into thousands of homes in the town near Detroit. Keeping lead out of the drinking water is something modern society view as a fundamental and common sense action. As such, countless citizens wondered how something like this could ever happen in the United States. Indeed, the missteps by the city of Flint, Michigan must be examined in terms of both decision-making and chemistry in order to make appropriate adjustments for the future.

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.