Midwest Water Pollution

As Doidge et al. illustrate, the historical background of Flint City’s drinking water supply emanated from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. This was through a contractual basis for over three decades, and its main source of water was Lake Huron. The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department is an extensive system encompassing almost 1,080 square-miles, and provides to more than two fifths of the Michigan State population. In the year 2000 alone, the system covered 11,000 miles of water channels with a storage volume of about 360 million gallons. It supplied water to nearly four million people in Detroit and its metropolitan locale.

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 Flint, Michigan around a couple years ago decided on the worst decision to save money for the state. The state decided to earn money by switching from Detroit's Lake Huron to one of the Rivers most known for its filth, the Flint River. Residents were shocked at the sudden change and started getting worried, this, being long-term residents there it was a fear amoung them . Most were concerned whether it would be safe for the health of everyone due to the fact the the water looked brown until Former Flint Mayor Dayne Walling drank the brown water in front of everyone to prove a point in front local TV. One of them said, “‘You’re paying for poison. I’m paying for water that’s a toxic waste,’ Kelso said” (Ganim, Tran 1) after realizing that

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.

Secondly, water pollution is contaminating the fresh water supply across the nation. The city of Flint, Michigan serves as a cautionary tale about how misusing water and power can prevent people from receiving a clean glass of water. In 2014, The city of Flint switched its water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River, while a new pipeline was being built connecting the two bodies of water. This gave the city a chance to save money despite the fact there were previous records of the river being contaminated. That same year, after the switch, the city had to issue a boil water advisory twice and a General Motors plant stop using city water because it was corroding engine parts. Finally, in January 2015, the city notifies residents that the

At the beginning of 21st century, droughts and contamination of water around the world were having a huge impact on the quality of life, a decrease of crop production, decrease in drinkable water, and the economy as a whole. In Flint, Michigan, the corrosion of water pipes (resulting from a switch in the water supply) lead to a contamination of the water. Lead seeped into the water, then E. Coli was found, and later on, Flint’s water failed to pass the standards set by the Safe Drinking Water Act when byproducts of chemical purifiers were found. Flint still does not have full access to clean drinking water (Kennedy, 2016). At times like these, people need a way to cheaply purify and, sometimes, desalinate water so they can survive. For most

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

Water pollution in Tennessee is a major environmental issue. Polluted rivers and streams are major problems because the water inside of them is supposed to be a clean source of water, but sadly that’s not the case. In order to stop this, we have to keep moving forward to find a solution.

India’s vast and developing population is putting quite a stress on all of the country’s natural resources. Most sources of water are polluted by unmanaged sewage and agricultural overflow. Even though the country has made some progress, water contamination is still a big issue throughout the country. Although access to clean drinking water has improved, the World Bank calculated that 21% of communicable diseases in India are still related to contaminated water. According to water.org, In India, diarrhea alone causes more than 1,600 deaths daily, the same as if eight jumbo jets crashed to the ground each day. Hygiene is another problem that affects India, in the city and in rural areas. In rural areas of the country latrines

Many Americans have thought of places without access to clean water as third world countries, not places right here at home like Flint, Michigan with their lead infested waters. In contrary to popular belief, Flint is just one of thousands of contaminated water sites that happen right here in America and is America’s first look into the issue. This crisis was first brought to my attention when I have visited China and had a tasted of this problem, in the summer before my sophomore year of high school. In the larger cities, they have very unsafe drinking water, the tour guide (a Beijing native) does not trust the system and advises everyone to not drink water that restaurants provides you or even from water bottles because of how horrible the Chinese sewage system is. The tour guide actually provided us with a filter to filter our water. However the water in villages, such as my mom’s hometown, has to face an even devastating problem they have to face where they did not even have proper plumbing in order to conserve their water. The only source of their drinking water comes from a single well, drilled in the center of the village. If this well was to be contaminated then the people who can afford it, would have only bottled water to survive on and some who cannot will have no water until the next rainfall. In a privileged country, Americans hear about all of these stories of how people struggle but to really see it in person, it is very different and that is why this water

More than two-thirds of the Earth’s surface is covered in water and, as global population continues to grow, so does the pressure placed on water and the resources it contains. This pressure has caused many devastating issues to the ecosystems of large bodies of waters, where the evidence of human interference can be found in every square centimeter. Perhaps the most local example of these treacherous impacts can be found within the waters of the Lake of the Ozarks. Water pollution at the lake creates hazards for both the aquatic wildlife and tourists visiting the area. E. coli, a common bacteria found in the waters, has caused hundreds of deaths globally due to the illness it causes and poses a great risk to the high volumes of tourists that the area attracts each year. In addition to the human risk, the waste and runoff from storms and developing infrastructure have the potential to harm, and even kill, the organisms living in and around the area.

Varieties of infectious diseases in the main water reserves that people supply to their cities and towns and in different countries around the world can be spread through water and influence water consumption of humans and also alter how they grow their plants and provide water for their animals. Some water- borne diseases such as Typhoid, Cholera, and Malaria can make people sick when they consume or come in contact with. Each year 1.2 trillion gallons of untreated sewage, stormwater, and mechanical squander are dumped into US water. This sewage often contains faeces, urine and laundry waste and is treated in water treatment plants. In many undeveloped countries, polluted water is a major negative factor in their lives. Many developing and undeveloped to western standards have a big issue with this; countries like Uganda are one of the leading countries suffering from water pollution. Uganda is filled with most fresh water, but with a high bacterial content.

Industrial water consumption makes up 22% of global water use. In 2009, European and North American industrial water use accounted for half of their total water use, whereas in developing nations industrial water use ranges from 4-12% of national water use [10]. As industrialisation in developing nations increases, industrial water use could potentially increase by a factor of 5, strongly increasing pressure on water resources [10]. Wastewater can be reused within the industry producing it or between several industries through ‘industrial symbiosis’ [11].

WATER CONTAMINATION- Contamination of Ground Water is mainly due to intensive human activities. This has a negative impact on the human health and the environment (Jianhua Wu and Zhanchao Sun 2015). Some of the causes for water pollution are industries (the discharge of hot water from the cooling engines to the nearest lake or river), agriculture (use of pesticides and fertilizer), the toxic water from households, sewage leakages, Radioisotopes, Mining and coal production (Owa 2014). To control this damage, there should be some engineering solutions.

The lake needs are in great danger and humans need to save the lake so nothing bad happens to It. In the past the water was really bad and people could not use the water. For a couple years and people did not like that. In 2017 there are blooms in the lake and people are yelling about the river and people are buying bottled water and stores are running out of the clean water for people to buy and drink it so people won’t get sick from the lake and then died. “There they found the highest concentration of plastics — denser than in the oceans — in Lake Erie.” Similar results were found by University of Wisconsin-Superior chemist Dr. Lorena Rios-Mendoza.”[Huber] “Trash from beaches, river banks, and neighborhood gutters makes its way into our waterways. Things like plastic cigar tips, food wrappers, toys, and disposable drink bottles get bumped around, blown, and washed off into the streets, through the sewers, and Into Lake Erie.”