The normal human body is made up of about 60% of water, which is obviously over half the human body. Drinking tap water is something that is a part of almost everyone’s daily lives, however, in the documentary Poisoned Water by PBS, Flint, Michigan’s tap water isn’t as safe as the people of Flint, Michigan originally thought. Lead poisoning, legionaries’ disease, even the deaths of 12 people have all been happening to the people of Flint, Michigan according to Poisoned Water by PBS. I was surprised to learn that it took so much effort just to get clean water. People should not have to worry about if their water is safe or not, it’s a basic human right to trust in the people who run the water plants to make sure the water is drinkable. I was also surprised to learn that a disease can arise from the lack of clean water. I didn’t realize that by constantly neglecting to clean up the pipes in Flint, Michigan, legionaries’ disease would form. I also was surprised to learn about the effects lead had on people who drank the contaminated water. When it comes to clean water, I’ve never really questioned if my water is clean or not. It’s something that shouldn’t be questioned, it should just be a fact that the water is clean. I’m shocked to know that it took 18 months to actually switch back to the original water system. “In October 2015, 18 months after the switch, Flint finally changes back to the Detroit water system and once again receives properly treated water from Lake Huron”
An online slideshow titled “How Flint Water Crisis Emerged,” published by MLive, a Michigan news source, written by Wilson, Samuel, Michelle Tessier, and Erin Kirkland gives a timeline of how Flint’s water crisis emerged. The second slide, written by Samuel Wilson, claims that the water crisis actually began in 2013, shortly after Flint’s emergency manager, Ed Kurtz, signed an agreement to stop buying water from Detroit. Kurtz and the city council, in an effort to save money, voted to join a
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
Even before this crisis, the people of Flint, Michigan were struggling. To fix this problem the government came up with the plan to end the purchases of drinking water from Detroit and join a country-wide system that supplied water from Lake Huron. Although, this system was not fully built yet, so in the meantime they turned to the Flint River to provide water for the city. The problem with taking water from the Flint River was that the water was corrosive and if the proper chemicals weren’t added, the water could cause damage (Durando, 2016). Since the water wasn’t properly treated or tested, that’s exactly what happened. The water caused lead from the pipes to drain into the city's drinking water, and it all went downhill from
The crisis began in April of 2014. The city of Flint decides to change its main water supply from the system in Detroit to the Flint River. This switch occurred due to the cost of Detroit's water supply. Residents soon noticed a different taste, color and odor to the water. In August and September, the city is put under a water boil advisory. .
In 2014, Flint, Michigan chose to switch their water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River. During this change, the city did not add any products to the water to stop it from getting polluted. Because there were no products added to the water, the water became extremely contaminated. There was literally no water in Flint that was in drinking condition. Towards the end of the Fall of 2015, Flint’s water crisis went global.
According to City Council meetings the switch would end up saving the region $200 million over a course of twenty-five years. While they were waiting on the Karegnondi Water Authority to hook up a pipeline they used the Flint River as a source of water. They had previously used the Flint River as its main water source until the 1960’s (Kennedy). Residents were concerned about the use of the Flint River, because of its unsafe history. Flint signed onto the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, which uses Lake Huron, in 1967. The Flint Rivers water quality deteriorated the 1970’s because of the fecal coliform bacteria, low dissolved oxygen, plant nutrients, oils, and toxic substances found. In 2001, the state organized a cleanup of 134 polluted spots near the Flint River area. Industrial complexes, landfills and farms laden with pesticides and fertilizer were among the sites ordered to be cleaned up (CNN Library). By May people begin to notice the awful smell and color of the water. The complaints were ignored. Three months later E. coli and total coliform bacteria are found in the River. A boil order is put in place to help prevent the residents from being exposed to the bacteria. (Kennedy). The
It all started when Flint officials turned off the flow of already-treated Lake Huron water from the city of Detroit and started treating their own raw water from the Flint River instead. However, changing the source of the water was supposed to be a temporary solution, because the Genesee country, where
Clean drinking water is a necessity in everybody’s life. Many cities take for granted their seemingly infinite amount of water available to them but for Flint, Michigan residents, there is no such luxury. Many people in that area have been sickened or even killed with the water that is available to them. Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan should resign due to the water crisis in Flint, Michigan because his negligence may have long and short term effects on the health of the city’s residents. There is no excuse for how he is handling this; slowly, and ineffectively.
An attempt to save money by changing water sources by an indifferent government caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, negative health effects, and a total loss in faith in the government of Michigan. Although measures have been taken to mitigate these problems, their effects have already marred the city of Flint and its
The contamination began in April 2014 after the source of the town’s water supply was switched from Lake Huron to the Flint river in order to reduce governmental costs. This was done despite the fact that the Flint River had a strong history of pollution. Among this pollution included car parts, a dead body, and high levels of chemicals. (Semules par 5). Once the pipes were switched there were several complaints of the water having a foul smell and metallic taste (Foley par 4). In the beggining the government denied that anything was wrong despite the fact that lab examinations of the water proved otherwise. Two years after the Flint water crisis gained media attention, the Senate passed a bill that would provide Flint residents with water, but this is
It has no taste, no smell and no color. We find it in tanks, ponds, wells, rivers and springs. Almost three-fourth of the earth is water. Millions of years ago human beings used water for all rare reasons. Up till now people don't appreciate how precious water is. Saving water at home does not require any significant cost but there are many ways we can save water through our actions.
Water is a very important commodity to live. Some people say it’s a right, but others at as if it’s a privilege, and as a result, people lack it. The human body is about sixty percent water, but in what I have seen just in my twenty years of life, people do not drink merely enough of it. Instead, water has been replaced as a go-to drink by things like milk, coffee, pop, or energy drinks, but natural energy lies in water. With water we can be more energized, awake, and of course, hydrated, which all together collaborate to help us flourish, stay healthy, and live long. It’s most of the earth’s surface, too; water’s all around us, but we neglect it and deny its crucial place in our health and humanity.
What is the one thing that all humans can agree on? Clean water. Then why are roughly 844 million people around the world living without access to clean water? (UN Water) As simple as it may seem, there are complex layers that have overlapped for generations, leading to an endless cycle of poverty. The scarcity of water contributes to issues in health, education, and poverty. Water impacts nearly every aspect of life; however, the most shocking fact is that we already have the solutions to provide safe water. The first obstacle that we must overcome is the allocation of resources. Now, more than ever, we have access to the world’s finest research and technology that could very easily end the water crisis. The solution to the water crisis starts with spreading awareness and reaching out to generous donors. Proper funding can be raised to reach the goals of charities across the globe. Sustainable clean water technology can be distributed to some of the most poverty-stricken countries in the world, such as Ethiopia, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which all have populations of over fifty percent living without improved drink water sources. (Africa Development Information) I believe we have the means to provide solutions to put an end to the water crisis, but it will require effort from donors and local communities alike. It is possible within the decade that no one will need to drink unsafe water again if we are united by this cause.
In the modern age of high-speed internet, self-driving cars and VR it’s easy to forget that some places in the world still don’t have fresh water, let alone plumbing. The average person uses between 80 and 100 gallons of water a day. If you drink the recommended 8 glasses per day that’s only 8 oz a glass, or 64 oz in total. Of those 80 to 100 gallons we use an average of 3 every time we flush the toilet, 5 gallons per minute in the shower, 36 gallons for a bath, 8-27 gallons while doing the dishes, 25 gallons for every load of laundry and another 2 gallons a minute if you’re doing any outdoor watering or filling a kiddy pool. By using a newer toilet, you can reduce the gallons per flush to about 1.6 gallons, and when using a water saving shower head you can reduce your use to about 2 gallons per minute. This may not seem like much of a difference, but it can make a big impact.
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.