Clean drinkable groundwater must be shared amongst human population and wildlife. When we deplete and contaminate groundwater, not only are we affecting ourselves but the wildlife. Sea snakes exemplifies one of the affected species. Sea snakes need access to freshwater. A professor of biology of the University of Florida led a new study that shows the sea snakes living where there is drought relieve their dehydration, whereas when the wet season hits, obtaining freshwater decreases their chance to do so. 

Although in this article people are not taken into account, it is important that we conserve and prevent any extinctions of some species of sea snakes. It is crucial for us to care for species around us who cannot fend for themselves. Just like sea snakes need access to freshwater, there are other marine species that need the same necessity.  When we contaminate or do things that depelet freshwater, we need to be more conscious of the damages done to others. These species have no other alternative.

Plastic contamination is a huge issue we are facing as of now and they’re getting harder and harder to be removed because they are breaking down into tiny particles which is causing “consequences for human health and aquatic systems”. When nano and micro plastic break down further, it reduces the water quality that we later consume. The study of microplastics pollution is not yet fully understood, therefore barriering us to find solutions. According to the article, approximately 300 million tons of plastic are produced globally each year and up to 13 million tons of that is released into rivers and oceans, contributing to approximately 250 million tons of plastic by 2025.

Plastic is not a material that is biodegradable and its accumulation can therefore impact marine life. During the research, they realized the difficulty it was to detect the presence of nano and micro plastic in treatments, there will need to be a better detection strategy in order to ensure water quality meets the safety standards.

More than half of the world’s population is in threat due to the quality and availability of their drinking  water. Climate change and urbanisation has deeply impacted underground organic carbon. A new research has investigated and examined the global dataset of 9404 underground Doc, short for dissolved organic carbon, across continents. DOC naturally occurs but the higher the concentration is, the more challenging it is to make groundwater drinkable. Many continents rely on groundwater as their main source of drinking water for thousands of cities/towns.

The reason DOC concentration has increased over the years is due to increased temperature in the wettest quarter of the year. Ares such as China, India, and Africa are already experiencing severe contamination issues.

A collaboration between UNSW and ANSTO found four major factors contributing to the concentration of DOC levels: climate, land use, inorganic chemistry, and aquifer age. We have been depleting the availability of safe drinking water through all of our ambitious actions. This is a worldwide issue that needs to be tackled, more than 100,000 lifetime cancer cases in the US alone are attributed to drinking water contaminants.

This issue is related to environmental science because it’s tied to climate change, urbanisation effects, and land use. For many years we have been depleting resources that are vital to our ecosystem, without it we will negatively impact the quality of life for wildlife and human population. In order to understand the effects of DOC we need to implement the cost of researches that are dedicated to analyzing and evaluating our drinking water and system into our household water cost. By incrementing these additional costs, more people will be aware of the damages caused by our actions and this will be an economic incentive for them to advocate for a better and safe way to modernize our society.  The issues we are facing need to be addressed and battled with the adequate solutions.

Lack of access to clean water can be mortal, it causes 1.2 million deaths each year. Having clean water can help you avoid infectious diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, and polio. The most affected by this issue is in Africa. 9%(66 million) of the world does not have access to an improved water source. Although people drink from what is considered to be “safe” water, a high percentage is not 100% clean and free of contamination.

The fact that the poorest are the ones who are not having easy access to clean water is a social justice problem and I feel like we, as a developed country, are not doing much to ensure that developing countries get what they need, their rights are being denied and we should be able to combat this issue together. With advanced technology, we should be able to send resources to them to provide some assistance. The numbers of people with no access to an improved water source(piped water, public taps, and rainwater collections) have increased overtime but by little. There has been no significant change.

As years go by and the population continues to grow, water becomes more and more sacred and competitive. Not everyone feels the impacts and takes advantage of the availability of water while others are required to conserve water and find ways to use their water multiple times. 70% of the world is covered by water and only 2.5% is fresh. Water is a necessity for a sustainable life. We have “proven to be inefficient water users”. One of the challenges we have to face in modern days is how to efficiently conserve, manage, and distribute.

In developed countries we are constantly flushing water, showering for 10-30 minutes, leaving the faucet water running, and wasting water that is being unused, whereas in developing countries they have limitations and are forced to live on certain gallons of water a day. Although water is sacred in all places, we don’t all have the same impacts. I think it’s really important to conserve water by starting to educate students, parents, and the world by advertising and providing incentives to encourage more people to unitedly combat this issue.

Des Moines, Iowa water quality is ranked by Forbes as the top clean water city of the United States. This city surpasses the EPA standards, with extremely low contaminants.

They run a filtration system and the water is harvested from Moines River. With the help of this technological device: nitrate detectors. Nitrate detectors allow constant monitoring of mineral levels and is uploaded on a website to keep citizens well informed. By including citizens and allowing them to have a voice in the quality of water, life, and sense of unity has increased. 

We need to see what cities with the best water quality has done to improve their water system and surpass the EPA’s standards and see what successful ideas paved their ways towards  a healthier better lifestyle and try to mimic their systems and try to improve it to provide an efficient way to fix this national issue. In order to succeed, we need to modernize and attempt new solutions and learn from mistakes to better the nation.

More than 70 million people may be affected by health-based contamination, including THMs, HHAs, lead, copper, and arsenic. All 50 states have water systems that violates the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Act. Small rural areas are at most risk for having contaminated water supply systems.

Bottled water is now the number one drink in America, with extensive testing it was proven that bottled water is not safer than tap water. In fact, tap water is tested more frequently than bottled water. Even if bottled water was safer, we should find other mediums to avoid single plastic use.

Bottled water is one of the top go-to problem solvers for those who do not want to install filters. Although it may seem safer, in a way it is but we are damaging the environment. Only 23% of plastic gets recycled and the rest ends up in rivers, lakes, and oceans. We need to invest more money and scientists to find ways to better the water quality to reduce the amount of plastic bottled water which would also reduce the amount of pollution. With a better water quality, we would be boosting the population.

The non-profit Environmental Working Group and Northeastern University found people in nearly every state in the country exposed to unhealthy drinking water. Other research found at least 610 contaminated locations ranging from public water systems to civilian airports to firefighters training sites. David Andrews, a senior scientist for the Environmental Working Group says, “These chemicals… don’t break down in our body and they don’t break down in our environment and they actually stick to our blood. So levels tend to increase over time…Part of the problem is they haven’t set a new legal drinking water limit for any contaminant in over two decades.” EPA does not have a legally enforceable limit PFAS chemicals in drinking water and needs to be changed.

The fact that a handful of specialist and scientists feels obligated to speak out about the dangers of unhealthy water and criticize EPA’s limits and their unwillingness to improve their systems is beyond crazy. We’ve been taught to believe everything we read and hear instead of investigating more in depth of what we are consuming and being told. Just because the water meets all the requisites of “healthy water”, it doesn’t mean it’s 100% safe and we need to change that. We need to have more affordable water filters for everyone because everyone deserves to have a choice on whether they want to risk their health or not.

In America we all drink tap water without thinking if it’s safe or not. We all assume it is, but the disturbing truth is that roughly a quarter of American drink from water systems that violate the Safe Drinking Water Act.

The lead contamination crisis case in Flint, Michigan rose awareness of how race also contributed in having access to clean water. Water systems from all over the US is poorly maintained and is need of modernization. The Environmental Protection Agency regulates more than 90 contaminants but there are hundreds more that goes unregulated. 

Having excessive amounts of these contaminants can lead to neurological problems, interference with hormones,  increased risk of cancer, etc. Everyone has a right to clean water no matter what you look like, how much you make, or what political party you favor. That right is enshrined in the Clean Water Act of 1972. 

We need to start changing by starting with the basics: replacing pipes, fixing deteriorating mains, more filtrations or treatments to purify our drinking water, and improve testing.

In my household we were raised to never drink from the tap water because we didn’t trust that the system were clean, and we were right. Everyone takes for granted the fact that tap water is fairly “clean”. The Flint case has risen a lot of attention to the amount of dangerous chemicals contained in our water, some regions worse than others. The dangers of continuing drinking unsafe water is neurologically damaging and should be treated with more importance. According to the Clean Act Water of 1972, everyone should be able to have access to clean water no matter who you are. Although trying to fix this issue may implement money from the government but it will ensure protection and a better water quality for everyone.

High compliance numbers do not mean everything is fine. 92% of the water everyday meets the EPA requirements for safe drinking water, if 8 % of water doesn’t meet EPA standards, that’s up to 209 million unsafe glasses of water per day. Unfortunately waterborne diseases has been increasing in recent decades and EPA’s annual budget has remained flat since 2000.

There are more than 151k public water systems in the United State serving communities, schools, hospitals, and other sites, yet their report card grade is a ‘D’ due to their high numbers of leaks and the presence of contaminants like lead and PFAS. The first quarter of 2019 shows that the percentage of water systems ranged from 84 to 95 percent and some regions are better-served than others. Research has estimated that as many as 32 million cases of waterborne disease occur nationwide each year.

Climate change also leads to more poor water quality with its floodings, and intense storms. 

Unhealthy tap water is something that cannot be seen by naked eyes but most certainly affects our bodies the most. Most states like New York, New Mexico, Texas, and many more has a much lower compliance records than the rest of the states, which I believe is entirely unfair because not region and communities is getting the same opportunity/access to a much healthier water. Clean water is not a human right and I think that should be changed.

Water providers should reaffirm their commitment to providing safe water. Although it can never be 100% safe, one percent less makes a difference in a person’s health. Like this article mentioned towards the end, they need to be consulting with engineers and universities to assess a new  efficient treatment. “We need modern solutions to modern problems”.