All About Water

Access to water has always been an important factor in the location of settlements, whether primitive or modern, human or animal, and the need for water is a universal part of life. Unfortunately, billions of people around the world still lack access to potable water.  Water shortages are usually defined as third-world phenomena, but shortages of clean water are also prevalent in the United States.  As the world’s population grows, humanity must recognize that water access is becoming an increasingly global concern.

Access to Clean Water

Access to water is vital, but access to clean water is even more critical.  Today, approximately one billion people do not have access to clean water, which has severely harmed the health and economic development of the most affected regions.  Further, according to UNICEF, lack of safe water is the world’s single largest cause of illness. Lack of clean water can cause afflictions such as river blindness, cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, and a number of other diseases and infections. The global water crisis is not unsolvable, though. Countries around the world are actively pursuing solutions such as reduction of pollution, infrastructure building, desalinization, improved irrigation, and more.

Data Concerning Water Usage

• A person needs 7.5 to 15 liters a day for survival. Included in this are figures for drinking water, hygiene and cooking.
• On average, women in Africa and Asia walk about 6 kilometers to collect water.
• More than 3½ million people die each year from water-related diseases.
• A child dies every 20 seconds from a water-related disease.

Access to Water and Sewage Treatment

In man’s effort to stay safe, he has found ways to treat water. Water treatment occurs before the water enters a house. Unfortunately, water treatment is so simplistic that many people are still concerned for population safety. Sewage treatment is done on used water before it re-enters the source, such as a river or under ground supply. Sewage treatment speeds the process of eutrophication, or the aging process of water, and creates favorable breeding grounds for disease that would not be as concentrated if nature took care of itself. Taking the larger particles from sewage water is acceptable, but the later-stage biological processes are what cause eutrophication.

Access to water and particularly, clean water will always present a major problem to the human race. Unfortunately, there are too many people needing too many resources from the planet.

The United States has been mining coal for hundreds of years. Today, 45 percent of our electricity still comes from coal-fired plants, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The seemingly inexhaustible supply of this carbon-based fuel comes at a heavy environmental cost. The resulting air, water and soil pollution has a serious impact on human health as well. Beyond currently-operating coal production, abandoned mines also pollute water. It is estimated that Pennsylvania has 2,400 miles of streams still being polluted from closed mines.

Types of Coal Mining

Coal can be extracted in two basic ways. Deep extraction requires digging shafts far underground that follow seams of coal underground. Strip mining involves clearing huge tracts of land of vegetation and stripping the top layer of coal from the earth’s surface. Strip mining is by far the most damaging in terms of coal pollutants. Destruction of trees and vegetation on entire mountaintops causes erosion and landslides as well as water pollution.

Coal Pollutants

The slag produced by the unprofitable part of strip-mined soil contains large amounts of toxic metals. When coal is extracted from the profitable strip-mined soil, great amounts of fresh water are used in the process. What’s left over is called sludge, and it is even more toxic than slag. High concentrations of mercury, arsenic, lead and selenium may be found in sludge, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Water and Air Pollution

Huge amounts of slag are dumped into stream beds, where they overwhelm the ecosystem and leach into aquifers that supply drinking water. Sludge, on the other hand, is stored in abandoned mines and aboveground facilities. The leaching problem is the same, with toxic metals entering the drinking water supply. These coal pollutants often go undetected because testing is not routinely carried out.

Environmental Effects

Destruction of river, stream and reservoir ecosystems is common in areas where coal mining is carried out. Coal pollutants from the wind-blown soil of deforested mountaintops contributes to acid rain elsewhere. Loss of habitat for nearby animals further damages the natural environment. Pollutants find their way into the food chain, deforming and poisoning species as they go. These pollutants reach the top of the food chain when humans consume vegetables, meat and fish.

Effects on Humans

The effects of coal pollutants are many and well documented by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Asthma and lung cancer can be traced to the inhalation of coal pollutants. Toxic metals in the water can cause liver problems, kidney failure, many types of cancer and lymphoma, as well as cirrhosis. High levels of selenium in water can cause pulmonary edema and death, and mercury and lead are particularly toxic for children. The EPA currently urges stricter regulations for dumping of coal slag and sludge to combat coal mining pollution.

What is a Polyphosphate?

Phosphates are broken down into four primary groups. Orthophosphate is used for detergents and baking, pyrophosphate for water treatment and metal cleaning, and tripolyphosphate in meat processing and, oddly enough, dish detergent. The fourth group, and the focus of this article, is polyphosphate, which is commonly used in kaolin production, water treatment, food processing and preservation, and more.

How is Polyphosphate Manufactured?

Polyphosphate is a blend of phosphoric acid and other compounds or elements. Starting with phosphoric rock, there are two methods of processing phosphoric acid. The wet process combines the phosphoric acid with sulfuric acid. This compound is generally used in the agricultural market. The dry method uses heat to purify the phosphoric rock into phosphorous pentoxide. This phosphorous pentoxide is then dissolved in either water or phosphoric acid to increase its potency. The result is the basis for polyphosphate chemical compounds.

Polyphosphate in Water Purification

Polyphosphate is an effective agent that prevents the natural iron in well water from staining concrete and other porous surfaces brown. Anyone using well water can also appreciate its odor retardant ability. Orthophosphate and polyphosphate can be used together in treating water along with additional phosphate compounds. Their job is to stabilize the quality of water, inhibit corrosion of water pathways, remove scale deposits, and discourage unhealthy microbe growth.

Polyphosphate in Food Preparation

Interestingly, polyphosphate is often used in food preservation. Chickens are injected with a polyphosphate solution directly after slaughter. This process greatly reduces thaw drip, aids in water retention, and increases the stability of the cooked meat. This method is also used when freezing fresh fish. Although salt would accomplish the same result, it is not used because excess salt can create unpleasant tastes in preserved foods.

Polyphosphate and Your Health

Since most foods break down upon consumption into a simple phosphate in the human stomach, addition of polyphosphates to food or water poses little risk. While polyphosphates can be harmful if taken in very large quantities, most people usually do not exceed the recommended daily level in their diets so there is no cause for concern.

Coastal waters are an incredibly important resource. In addition to the breathtaking natural beauty they lend to the states and territories of the United States, coastal waters also play a critical role in commercial transport, agriculture, tourism and recreational commerce. Perhaps it’s no great surprise, then, that nearly half of Americans live in coastal zones despite the ready availability of land stretching between the Pacific and the Atlantic.

The Coastal Zone Act, a collection of laws, regulations and ordinances jointly administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), works to protect the quality of America’s coastal zones. The Coastal Zone Act focuses on controlling non-point source pollution, or indirect, cumulative pollution, through introducing enforceable state level policies which curb environmentally unsound practices.

What exactly is non-point pollution?

Non-point pollution refers to the “trickle down” accumulation of run-off pollutants in coastal waters. Unlike point pollution, which describes the piping of industrial chemicals or sewage directly into the sea, non-point pollution occurs when toxins and non-biodegradable materials penetrate through soil or drainage infrastructure, eventually making their way into coastal waters.

What are the major sources of non-point pollution?

NOAA and the EPA have defined six major sources of non-point pollution in the United States. These include forestry zones, agriculture zones, urban areas, marinas, areas where landscaping that modifies shorelines and rivers is conducted, as well as riverbank and wetland areas. A variety of programs defined by the Coastal Zone Act address each specific source of non-point pollution.

What are some Coastal Zone Act programs?

The Coastal Zone Act advocates educational programs which help to inform the growth and development of coastal communities. The Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO) program, for example, provides classes and consulting for local officials which helps them to make water quality conscious decisions in terms of zoning, construction and natural resource management.

The Clean Marina Program is also a product of the Coastal Zone Act. It offers tax incentives and other benefits to Marinas which adhere to strict fuel, oil and sewage management policies.

Other Coastal Zone Act programs include public education campaigns such as the production of signboards, billboards, and public radio service announcements which promote the tenets of non-point pollution control.

How effective is the Coastal Zone Act?

The Coastal Zone Act reduces urban pollution sources, protects coastal ecosystems and ensures cleaner, more beautiful coastal regions for today and tomorrow’s generation. With the introduction of new programs and stricter regulations in 1990, the Coastal Zone Act was further empowered to solicit state-level cooperation and deliver greater successes.

As of 2008, 34 states had adopted non-point pollution control programs of some type. In the same year more than twenty coastal and Great Lake states had begun implementing the Clean Marina Act, and several states including Massachusetts and South Carolina instituted pollution control planning in their urban development processes.

Both point and nonpoint pollution have a major impact on America’s waterways. Point pollution is that which comes from a single major source such as a factory. This type of pollution is regulated by the EPA through the Clean Water Act. However, politicians and administrators have criticized the Clean Water Act’s effectiveness and scope. Further, environmental groups like the Sierra Club are urging their members to do what they can to have this law strengthened. Despite the amount of legislation dedicated to point pollution, nonpoint pollution has actually become the most damaging to the environment. Since non-point pollution is the cumulative runoff from many small individual sources, it is hard to regulate and police. Instead, individual citizens must take steps on their own to remedy the problem.

What is point pollution?

When most people think of water pollution, they think of point pollution: a single source such as a factory with a pipeline reaching to the nearest stream.  Much of this pollution comes from industrial sources, such as coal mining, stainless steel production, uranium mining, petroleum production, etc.

What is done to prevent/ regulate it?

The federal Clean Water Act of 1970 placed restrictions on the untreated pollutants that American businesses can discharge into waters. Responsibility fell to the states themselves to police their own industries with the understanding that if the state could or would not, the federal government would enforce the law.

What else can be done?

Point source pollution has been lessened since the Clean Water Act, but it has not been entirely eliminated. In fact, it is growing again since the Clean Water Act was severely gutted during the early 2000s and has not been fully reinstated. The Sierra Club is urging its members to do the following:

1. Call their congressman and urge him to strengthen the Clean Water Act

2. Email the President’s administration to hold them to their promise to fight for the Clean Water Act.

3. Write a letter to the editor about both point and nonpoint pollution.

What is nonpoint pollution?

The sources of water pollution in this country are both point and non-point pollution. Non-point pollution comes from individual citizens; the home owner working in the yard who allowsfertilizer in water from his lawn, or the car owner who spills oil onto the driveway. These and millions of other small pollutants are washed everyday into our storm sewers and sent directly to our streams. Cities that carefully clean their household waste water often do nothing to treat storm water runoff.

What is done to prevent/ regulate it?

Point and nonpoint pollution are equally damaging to our waterways and our own health. However, we regulate one and largely ignore the other. While the Water Quality Act of 1987, an amendment to the Clean Water Act, attempted to limit municipal nonpoint pollution, but the program has faced funding problems and delays.  This is at least partially because cities have little incentive to police individual homeowners for small amounts of backyard pollution and have even less incentive to build expensive storm-water treatment facilities.

What else can be done?

In the meantime, individuals should do what they can to clean up their own backyards. Everyone should be aware that the small pollutants that people use in their everyday lives add up to giant consequences in the long run.

Water well maintenance is an important aspect of keeping drinking water clean. Annual checks for casing damage and water quality checks can ensure drinking water is free from bacteria and pollution. Some well treatments to maintain water quality are often used in both single family and community water wells.

Maintaining Well Integrity

The design of a traditional water well can be as simple as an excavated hole with a covering, or the well can be drilled with a casing that extends past the deep rock layer into the main aquifer. The maintenance for these different styles of wells will depend on the materials used. A casing should be examined anytime there is cloudy or muddy water for an extended time. If a shallow, dug well can be cleaned manually then this should be done anytime debris enters the well. Both styles of water well should be checked annually to ensure the well is in good working order.

Water Testing

Water well maintenance should also include testing of the water quality on an annual basis. Bacteria can pollute wells anytime the groundwater in the region becomes contaminated. Testing for chloroform bacteria, nitrates, and other common pollutants will ensure the water is safe for consumption. Some bacteria can be eliminated using chemical treatments, such as chlorine bleach. Local contaminants can be a hazard, especially in more populated areas.

Preventing Contamination

When performing water well maintenance it is best to have a professional perform all needed testing, although there are also home test kits available to test water quality. To prevent pollutants from entering the well, it is important to keep all toxic materials away from the surrounding area. Motor oil, paint, and other common household chemicals can add toxins to the well if they enter the ground near the well opening. A well maintenance expert can provide recommendations for the proper distance to maintain between the well, the home septic, and other possible contaminants.

Water Well Treatments

When performing regular water well maintenance there may be a need to add chemicals to the well to eliminate bacteria. In the case of chemical pollutants, such as fertilizers, the well may become unusable for drinking purposes depending on the severity of the contamination and the chemicals that have polluted the well. The addition of chlorine is common in wells with microorganisms. The amount of chlorine needed will vary, so make sure a professional advises you on the amount needed within your region.

Regional Importance

Water well maintenance may vary from one region to the next. The average life span of a well is about twenty years. After this time, maintenance will include drilling a new well and ensuring the old water well has been shut down properly. All water wells, including those no longer in use, need to be registered for safety reasons.

Cool, refreshing, crystal clear water tastes great on a hot summer day, but most people don’t give much thought to what’s actually in their drinking water. The following is an explanation of how water treatment affects the tap water that people drink every day.

Aluminum Sulfate

Alum, or aluminum sulfate, is added to water to aid in filtration. Alum acts as a coagulant to bind fine suspended particles together into larger particles that can then be filtered out of the water. It results in water that is clearer, and the alum itself will be cleared from the water. Because the aluminum is filtered back out along with the particles it binds to, it poses no health risk.

Fluoride

The EPA reports that fluoride is added strictly for the dental benefits. Fluoride does not improve the actual quality of the water supply, but it is proven to help protect the teeth of people who consume it. However, water fluoridation is becoming increasingly controversial. The National Water Council currently advises parents not to give fluoridated water to infants. Further, the Centers for Disease Control estimate that one in three children in America have irreversible damage to their permanent teeth as a result of fluoride. Supporters point to evidence showing fewer cavities for people consuming fluoridated water while opponents claim that there are serious health risks, including the risk of cancer. Of all the chemicals added to water, fluoride is the most controversial, and the only one that is not needed for actual water quality.

Chlorine

The EPA reports that chlorine is added as a disinfectant. Derivatives of chlorine, including chlorine dioxide and chloramines, are also added to prevent water supplies from turning into breeding grounds for bacteria and viruses. The health problems with consuming high levels of chlorine are clear. However, water departments around the nation are careful to use enough chlorine to kill bacteria without using so much as to cause health problems.

Potassium Permanganate

This oxidizing agent is added to lake water. It is used to clear the water of iron, manganese, and some natural tastes and odors. Removing the iron and manganese ensures that the water does not cause stains on clothing and plumbing fixtures. After being oxidized by potassium permanganate, these minerals become insoluble and can be easily removed through basic filtration methods. However, concentrated levels of potassium permanganate can be harmful to the skin.

Polyphosphate

Used as a liquid substance, polyphosphate helps to isolate the iron, manganese, and calcium in water. When added to water, polyphosphate protects water lines by preventing corrosion of pipes.

Any chemical added to water has the potential to cause health problems. However, it is important to weigh the potential risks against the health benefits that are gained by having clear, clean water that is free of algae, bacteria and viruses. Regardless of where you live, it is a good idea to have an additional filtration system in your own home to remove some of these chemicals.

Want to know about how to filter out other chemicals? See our article on: Different Kinds of Water Filters

What happens when a plastic bottle cap is swept into a storm drain? It goes out to the ocean, of course. This is not a rare occurrence; plastic is washed out to sea all the time. Unfortunately, so much plastic has been disposed of over the years that a giant garbage patch has formed in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Garbage Patch is very harmful to marine life, but scientists have had trouble monitoring its growth and generating feasible ideas for cleaning it up.

What is the Pacific Garbage Patch?

Discovered about in 1997 by Captain Charles Moore, the Pacific Garbage Patch is made up of plastic debris that has been dumped into the ocean and swept together by large swirling currents called gyres.  Some refer to it as an “island of plastic,” but in actuality the greatest bulk of the Pacific Garbage Patch is not very visible. The patch is actually made up of very small, almost microscopic, pieces of plastic that float just beneath the surface of the water. This is just one form of water pollution, but it concerns scientists very much.

How did it form?

Once the plastic is washed out to sea, ocean currents and gyres swirl it into a vortex and hold it in the center of a high pressure area. Gyres, or large scale swirls of ocean current, can collect large amounts of debris in one spot. There it slowly breaks down into almost invisible pieces.  After decades of plastic dumping, the garbage patch has grown to an enormous size and continues to grow.  While some claim that the garbage patch is approximately twice the size of Texas, these estimates have recently been disputed.

How does it affect marine life?

The environmental impact of marine debris is profound. It is a particular threat to marine mammals, such as the endangered Pacific Monk Seal and many species of whales. Seabirds and turtles can become entangled in the larger pieces, and many birds, turtles, and fish are dying from ingesting the bits of plastic. Much of it is smothering coral reefs as it falls to the ocean floor. It is even a threat to human health when it washes up on beaches or floats in swimming areas.

How fast is the Pacific Garbage Patch growing?

It is reasonable to believe that the Pacific Garbage Patch is growing. As the human population grows, we use more plastic that is washed into the ocean. However, it is difficult to measure its growth rate. The patch is hard to see, as explained above, and its shape changes as the waters around it swirl. Further, the garbage patch is not a continuous mass. Within the area of the Pacific Garbage Patch, there are large expanses of clear water. All of these factors make it difficult for scientists to estimate how fast it is growing.

Why don’t we just clean it all up?

It is not that easy. First of all, lack of visibility makes it difficult to find pieces of plastic to collect. It might be in one area today, then swirled hundreds of miles away the next. Secondly, it is difficult and costly to travel hundreds of miles into the Pacific to pick up microscopic pieces of plastic.

What about skimming?

A lot of marine life lives under the plastic, but plankton live among it. Since plankton and plastic pieces are about the same size, a skimming and filtering operation would pick up both. In addition to the prohibitive cost, skimming could destroy the plankton that is both the base of the ocean’s food chain and responsible for half of the photosynthesis on Earth.

Unfortunately, little has been done to solve this growing problem, as scientists have struggled to come up with efficient and cost-effective ways to rid the ocean of the debris. With no well-defined border, The Pacific Garbage Patch is even hard to monitor. For now, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are working on the problem, but a solution seems to be a long way off.