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L16
AN ETHICAL APPROACH TO THE DISTRIBUTION OF POTABLE WATER
Steven Stenger (SJS153@pitt.edu)
AN INTRODUCTION TO POTABLE
WATER
Throughout the past fifty years, there has been an ongoing
debate regarding the necessity for improving the access to
potable water in developing nations. This debate has involved
two opposing stances; one that supports government
involvement in the distribution and sanitization of water, and
the other supporting a privatization of these services. While
both of the stances have benefits, they both agree that the
current techniques used by developing countries cannot be
used effectively to sustain the countries over a long period of
time. It has been established that available freshwater makes
up less than one percent of all water on Earth. The remainder
of the water is either sea water or found in the form of ice [1].
This large percentage of untapped water could potentially be
used to lessen the damage caused by the rampant
inaccessibility of clean water that is currently affecting nearly
nine hundred million people throughout the world [1]. While
there is a strong correlation between poverty and the lack of
access to potable water, many other factors determine the
cleanliness of a region’s water supply. In many Latin
American countries water supply is limited. As a result, the
same source of water is used for several different purposes,
including: bathing, washing clothes and dishes, and even
disposing of waste. Because of these activities, the water
supply becomes contaminated, often resulting in the
spreading of diseases. It is important that engineers continue
to focus on developing methods of purifying and distributing
water to ensure that all people are given access to clean water,
and to lessen the spread of many diseases caused by the
inaccessibility of potable water.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The debate surrounding the possible improvement of
access to potable water revolves around three main aspects:
availability, delivery, and quality. Availability defines the
amount of water found within a region that can be used to
sustain the region’s population. Delivery involves the
methods used to ensure that the population effectively
receives the water supply. Water quality refers to the
cleanliness of the water or the pollutants found within it [2].
While many people express concerns regarding visible water,
such as rivers and lakes, nearly two billion people rely on
subterranean water for everyday purposes [3]. This
subterranean water is often found through aquifers. These
aquifers, however, can become contaminated with certain
pollutants, harming the overall cleanliness of the water, and
increasing the probability of the water spreading sicknesses
and diseases [3]. This contamination is often a result of other
urban activities, such as pollution from other industries or
University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering 1
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sewage leaks [3]. These sources of contamination have caused
political discourse to surround a human rights issue. Many
people oppose the improvement of water conditions because
it would harm certain industries that have used water as a
means of production. Others are more concerned with the
negative effects that the water supply has caused to the health
of its consumers. This has led to water being considered as
both a “resource for human well-being” and as a means of
“productive activity” [4]. This struggle to define how
industries interact with water supplies has furthered marred
the true issue: maintaining an acceptable quality of human
life.
ACCESS: THE MAIN ISSUE
My name is Steven Stenger, I am one of the chief
environmental engineers currently working for the
Environmental Protection Agency. My job as a chief engineer
is to supervise all water distribution. In recent years, this job
has become increasingly difficult as a result of the new
challenges that water shortages have caused. These shortages
have led to an increased call for legislation regarding the
stockpiling of water. This legislation would increase the total
amount of clean water held in reservoirs maintained by the
United States Government. While this may seem to be a
harmless piece of legislation, if passed, the bill could result in
a decrease in the accessibility of water in poorer nations. This
is because water held in reservoirs is taken out of the water
cycle, resulting in an overall decrease in accessible water.
Also, this legislation leads to the question of from where the
water will be taken. It is very possible that the rights to water
will be purchased from struggling nations. This can lead to a
monopoly on water, effectively giving richer nations an
opportunity to capitalize on the suffering of poorer, more arid
countries. The idea of capitalizing on the suffering of povertystricken countries leads to a large variety of ethical debates;
specifically including the need to balance profit and morality.
The majority of these debates can be avoided by simply
following the Code of Ethics for Engineers. This code
provides a set of guidelines for engineers to follow to ensure
that all decisions are made honestly and with integrity [5]. By
following this code, engineers are able to avoid any sense of
bias, to ensure that the correct decision is made.
THE IMPORTANCE OF FOLLOWING
THE CODE OF ETHICS FOR ENGINEERS
Engineers are legally bound to follow a set of specific
guidelines that ensure that they make ethical decisions. If an
engineer were to disregard this code, he or she would be
intentionally endangering the lives of the people around him
or her. For example, if a structural engineer used low quality
Steven Stenger
materials to build a bridge, that engineer would be
endangering civilians in order to save money. Not only is this
a violation of the Code of Ethics for Engineers, it is also a
violation of civil law. Environmental engineers are obligated
to follow the same set of values. The first point of this code
states that “engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health,
and welfare of the public” [5]. This is a point that directly
effects the decisions made by many engineers. Engineers are
also made to abide by the idea of “[striving] to comply with
the principles of sustainable development in the performance
of their professional duties” [6]. When this statement is
considered during a decision-making process, engineers must
take into account the impact that their choices will have on
future generations. Engineers are entrusted to improve the
lives of future generations by making ethical decisions that
also improve the lives of members of the current generation.
This is further evinced in the canon that states that engineers
must “act for each employer or client as faithful agents or
trustees” [5]. In the case of water distribution, the needs of the
clients, the people in need of water, must come before the
desires of the employer.
share of the profits from water sales. While this may seem to
be beneficial, it causes a monopoly on water. This would
allow for the government to create their own prices. Without
competition, prices of water could skyrocket, further
increasing the large percentage of income that many people
spend on water.
Many cities struggling to provide water to their
inhabitants tap into groundwater to fulfill the water demands.
This is accomplished through either wells or boreholes,
providing individuals with a seemingly reliable method of
extracting water. However, this method comes with a high
risk of contamination. According to the Environmental
Protection Agency, groundwater can be contaminated through
a variety of different sources, including improper disposal of
wastes, leaks and spills at treatment plants, and saline
intrusions [5]. Although all of these sources of contamination
can be eliminated as new techniques for treating water are
developed, it is more important for cities to develop
techniques that will contribute to a more sustainable supply of
water. This, however, can only be done through additional
funding.
While increasing the amount of water held in American
reservoirs could positively impact the American people, a
drastic increase in reservoir supply would have an impact on
many countries around the world. This legislation would also
set an example of legislation based solely on selfpreservation. If other countries were to follow this example,
poorer nations would have to compete to gain access to the
little amount of potable water that remains. As stated
previously, the vast majority of water on earth is either impure
or inaccessible. As a result, methods of extraction and
purification would have to be improved in order to grant
poorer nations access to this water. These improvements,
however, would require funding that most poor countries
cannot afford. Because of this, access to this water would
require the intervention of a more financially stable country.
This situation does not often arise without any outside
influences because of the modern image of relationships
between countries. However, a change in this common
preconceived image would allow for an increase in
international unity throughout the globe.
ETHICAL DILEMAS SURROUNDING
POTABLE WATER
The limited access to potable water in many cities
throughout the world works as the primary obstacle to the
poor. This is largely due to the fact that the poor are forced to
seek alternative means of acquiring water. Wealthier residents
of areas with a limited water supply can afford to buy water
through a private party, and often receive the water at a
discounted price. For example, many people living in
wealthier neighborhoods in Mexico receive around one
thousand liters of water at the total cost of $40. Residents of
poorer neighborhoods spend up to $1100 for two hundred
liters of water [7]. As a result, it is clear that the allocation of
resources depends strongly on the social standing of the
consumers. This was further reinforced by recent protests in
Nicaragua that advocated for a change in the policies
surrounding the privatization of water [8]. Because of this, it
is clear that certain legislation must be passed in certain
regions to ensure access to clean water. However, this type of
legislation is not required in areas that have an ample supply
of clean water. The passing of this type of legislation by
countries with a sufficient water supply would cause regions
with a scarce water supply to suffer further.
The scarcity of water in certain, arid countries has resulted
in a high amount of private water distributors. While these
private parties often overcharge their customers, contributing
to the poverty that already plagues many of these countries,
competition between private companies ensures that prices do
not become too high. It has been shown that the poor could be
spending up to 20% of their income on water [2]. However,
an increase in government owned water would result in a
decrease in private sellers, giving the government a greater
POSSIBLE SOLUTION
Instead of stockpiling water in preparation of water
shortages, legislation should be put in place to limit the
amount of water used in a non-essential manner. For example,
in Arizona, citizens must file a permit for withdrawing a large
amount of water. Once a permit is issued, the person can
withdraw a specific amount of water, from a specific location,
for a specified purpose [9]. This form of saving water should
be applied on a national scale to ensure that water distribution
is not hindered. Water will be conserved instead of confined
to a specific region. This will contribute to the “huge volumes
of additional freshwater […] required to produce the food
needed to eradicate hunger” [10]. This would also help to
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[3] M. Valente. (2010). “SOUTH AMERICA: Clear Water –
Mercosur’s Underground Treasure.” Inter Press Service.
(Online article).
http://www.ipsnews.net/2010/04/south-america-clear-watermercosurs-underground-treasure/
[4] B. Orlove, S.C. Caton. (2010). “Water Sustainability:
Anthropological Approaches and Prospects.” Annual Review
of Anthropology. (Online article).
http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.anth
ro.012809.105045
[5] “Code of Ethics for Engineers.” National Society of
Professional Engineers. (2007). (Online article).
http://www.nspe.org/resources/pdfs/Ethics/CodeofEthics/Co
de-2007-July.pdf
[6] “Code of Ethics.” American Society of Civil Engineers.
(2006). (Online Article). http://www.asce.org/Ethics/Codeof-Ethics/
[7] M.C. Ennis-McMillan. (2001). “Suffering from Water:
Social Origins of Bodily Distress in a Mexican Community.”
Medical Anthropology Quarterly. (Online article).
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1525/maq.2001.15.3.3
68/pdf
[8] S.T. Romano. (2012). “From Protest to Proposal: The
Contentious Politics of the Nicaraguan Anti-Water
Privitisation Social Movement.” Bulletin of Latin American
Research. (Online article).
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.14709856.2012.00700.x/full
[9] “State Water Withdrawal Regulations.” National
Conference of State Legislatures. (2013). (Online Article).
http://www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-naturalresources/state-water-withdrawal-regulations.aspx
[10] Johan Rockström, Mats Lannerstad, Malin Falkenmark.
(2007). “Assessing the Water Challenge of a New Green
Revolution in Developing Countries.” Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences of the United States of
America. (Online Article).
http://www.jstor.org/stable/25427364
[11] Ronald C. Griffin, James W. Mjelde. (2000). “Valuing
Water Supply Reliability.” American Journal of Agricultural
Economics. (Online Article).
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1244661
conserve water especially during summer months, when
water supply is low and usage is high [11]. In order to ensure
that this form of legislation is favored over the stockpiling
legislation, I plan to propose this solution to the Administrator
of the Environmental Protection Agency. I personally believe
that an ulterior form of legislation would result in more global
harm than positive national factors. Enlarging a municipal
supply of water, effectively forming a monopoly on water,
would result in more problems in the future. Cutting down on
non-essential water would allow for the water supply to be
drained at a slower pace. As a result, the effectiveness of a
region’s water supply would greatly increase. This would
result in a change in the manner in which the resource of water
is viewed. It would no longer be considered a national
resource, it would become a global commodity. This is
because, when water is used efficiently, there is a lesser need
for a large supply. Saving water in one area of the world
results in a more well-rounded distribution of clean water.
CONCLUSION: LOOKING TOWARDS
TOMORROW
The primary goal for all engineers should be to ensure that
all people are granted access to commodities that are
necessary for the sustenance of life. Clean water is among
these basic resources. As stated previously, a large portion of
the world’s population goes without this resource,
contributing to the spread of diseases, a lack of hygiene, and
thirst [6]. Within the next twenty years, these percentages will
increase, resulting in an even more imbalanced distribution of
water. However, if this subject receives a continued focus, I
firmly believe that engineers can help to lessen the strain
caused by the inaccessibility of potable water. This can
specifically be accomplished through the improvement of
extraction and purification methods. However, if these
methods remain unimproved, new forms of conserving water
will help to prevent the complete depletion of a country’s
water supply. With this in mind, the EPA, and all engineers in
general, should change their focus from a stockpile mentality
to a more focused mentality surrounding the idea of making
the current water supply last for a more extended period of
time.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
REFERENCES
I would like to thank Jordan Klette-Cusher and Nate
Burwell for taking the time to proofread and edit my paper. I
would also like to thank my resident advisor, Drew Gordish,
for offering guidance during this writing process.
[1] J. Wade. (2012). “The Future of Urban Water Services in
Latin America.” Bulletin of Latin American Research.
(Online article).
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.14709856.2011.00603.x/full
[2] R. McDonald, I. Douglas, C. Revenga, et al. (2011).
“Global Urban Growth and the Geography of Water
Availability, Quality, and Delivery.” Ambio. (Online article.)
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs13280-0110152-6/fulltext.html
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