Pollution
Pollution is something that degrades the quality of water making it undrinkable. There are many types of pollution including: sewage, pharmaceuticals, and different levels of chemicals within the water. Sewage is something that is starting to get out of control. We must get rid of waste somehow, since there is no way to destroy it, we must store it and then find a way to recycle it. For example, using it for fertilizers and other manners of adding nutrients to vegetation. The worry these days with pharmaceuticals is that is comes out in people's urine or fecal, along with cows and other animals who are treated. This can cause problems for other people, because if this contaminates other bodies of water then people are consuming these medicines that they don't need, which can make them sick and cause harm. Different levels of chemicals within the water determines whether the water is drinkable or not. The nitrate levels in Tulare Lake Basin and the Salinas Valley are extremely high. This affects people's health if drank from. Also the fish species in the water can be affected by this as well, and if humans consume the fish they can get a second-hand contamination. All this waste that we produce each day gets stored in basins or lakes, conveniently right next to our main water sources, not. This is an extreme danger because sometimes the storage units collapse or fail and our water sources get contaminated. This leaves many people without water for a while until the Water Control Board can figure it out. These scares have made people stop trusting their taps, so they leave their trust in bottled water. This is not necessarily better because one does not know if the bottled water is safe or has been tested.
Ways that we can fix this pollution are moving our waste bins and storage areas away from our main water sources, so in case of a failure or leakage, it will not affect the water supply. This will put faith back into people into using their taps again which will decrease the amount of plastic we use. The amount of garbage that contaminates the water supplies can be depleted if we renew, reuse, and recycle. Yes, very cliche, but it will work if everyone puts their mind to it and cooperates in doing there part. Another thing we could have done is have the water tested ever week or every other week to check chemical levels. This is a good amount of time to test water because it is a little time difference in between for someone to get harmed from contaminated water.
Ways that we can fix this pollution are moving our waste bins and storage areas away from our main water sources, so in case of a failure or leakage, it will not affect the water supply. This will put faith back into people into using their taps again which will decrease the amount of plastic we use. The amount of garbage that contaminates the water supplies can be depleted if we renew, reuse, and recycle. Yes, very cliche, but it will work if everyone puts their mind to it and cooperates in doing there part. Another thing we could have done is have the water tested ever week or every other week to check chemical levels. This is a good amount of time to test water because it is a little time difference in between for someone to get harmed from contaminated water.
Polluters 'R Us
Sources:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/02/140217-drinking-water-safety-west-virginia-chemical-spill-science/
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/09/us/north-carolina-coal-ash-spill/
https://www.austintexas.gov/content/1361/FAQ/2546
http://www.examiner.com/article/coal-ash-pollution-and-a-free-market-solution
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/02/140217-drinking-water-safety-west-virginia-chemical-spill-science/
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/09/us/north-carolina-coal-ash-spill/
https://www.austintexas.gov/content/1361/FAQ/2546
http://www.examiner.com/article/coal-ash-pollution-and-a-free-market-solution