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Adam Faircloth
English 112-21
Professor Cassel
1 June 2010
Wat Er The Facts
I recently started exploring ways to improve my personal health through
healthier dieting and exercise. When I took a look at dieting options, I found that a
huge factor in dieting is a person’s water intake. As a person who loves water and
drinks a soft drink once every 2-3 weeks at most, I started wondering what makes
water so good for the body and what the water I’m putting into my body does for
me. Most dieting plans or healthy eating plans recommend using purified or filtered
water. And I wonder why filtered or purified? What is wrong with the water that
I’m paying for every month from the city?
As a person who enjoys drinking water so much I feel it is relevant to know
the quality of the water being put into my body. From what I’ve researched the best
way of attaining better health is by putting cleaner foods and products into your
body and by exercises regularly. I feel that water is the starting point because
everything consists primarily of water, including our bodies. So it seems logical for
me to question the quality of the water provided by the city since it is my primary
source of water consumption.
Miamisburg, Ohio is located in the Great Miami Watershed. According to the
Miami Conservancy District’s article “Great Miami Watershed,” The Great Miami
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Watershed includes 15 counties in Ohio or roughly 3,946 square miles and an additional
1,756 miles in Indiana. Eighty percent of the land in the Great Miami River Watershed is
used for agriculture; 12% is used for residential, commercial, and industrial use; 4% is
covered by forest; and bodies of water or wetlands cover roughly 1%. There are 1.3
million people that reside in the watershed of which 75% of those reside in urban areas.
(“Miami Conservancy District”) The City of Miamisburg gets its drinking water from
the Great Miami River Buried Valley Aquifer System through 5 production wells that are
near the Great Miami River. Once the water is pumped to it treatment facility it is treated
before the cities consumers receive it. (Civic Focus)
The Great Miami River Buried Valley Aquifer System has been determined as in
high risk of contamination by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA). This
risk is due to a lack of protective layer of clay overlying the aquifer, the aquifer being less
than 15 feet below ground level, the presence of potential contaminant sources in relation
to the aquifer, and the presence of manmade contaminants in the aquifer. These
contaminants include microbial contaminants, inorganic contaminants, pesticides and
herbicides, organic chemical contaminants, and radioactive contaminants. (Civic Focus)
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is continuosly
working to improve water quality in the Dayton area. One way the USEPA helps is by
working along with local business’ owners to offer assistance and incentives for those
who take steps in reducing the chance of direct and indirect contamination of ground and
surface water. (“Source Water Protection”)
Because the Great Miami River Buried Valley Aquifer gains its water supply
from sources of precipitation, surface water, and ground water (Lane, N'Jie, and
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Brown) that collect from such a large land region I have chosen to focus
my research on water qualit y after treatment. Variables such as source
point pollution, runoff, and nonsource point pollution such as: automobile
emissions, drainage from fields/lawns/gard ens, residential development,
mining, and logging (Lane, N’Jie, and Brown) are uncontrollable and can
affect the water in such a wide span of area . This makes pretreatment
testing extremel y difficult. So I will focus on water after the treatment
process. I will have accurate findings because all drinking water is
required by law to undergo the treatment process if it is provided by the
cit y.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency includes a table
in its article, “Drinking Water Contaminants,” that lists the maximum
contaminant levels that are regulated through the nations water treatment
facilities. (“Drinking Water Contaminants ”) The Cit y of Miamisburg also
lists maximum contaminant levels as well as test level result post
treatment for its water in the brochure, “Civic Focus,” that the cit y sends
to all of its residents. (Civic Focus) Below, I have created a table ( figure
1) of both the USEPA and Cit y of Miamisburg’s contaminant regulations
and the contaminant level results post treatment.
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This table proves that the water the City of Miamisburg supplies to its residents is
of good quality and meets USEPA and City of Miamisburg water quality regulation
standards. None of the contaminants listed in figure 1 are even half of the maximum
contaminant level standards list by the USEPA or City of Miamisburg.
So with help by various organizations, business owners, residents, and the federal
and local government the water in Miamisburg, Ohio is safe to drink. There is always
room for improvement but if we continue to stay aware and continue to try and preserve
and protect our water supply we will continue to have safe drinking water.
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Works Cited
Civic Focus (2010). Miamisburg: City of Miamisburg. Water Report. Print.
"Drinking Water Contaminants." United States Environmental Protection
Agency. United States Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web.
31 May 2010.
<http://www.epa.gov/safewater/contaminants/index.html>.
Lane, Herbert, N'Deye -Marie N'Jie, and Larry Brown. "Water Resources
of Montgomery County." Ohio State University . Ohio State
Universit y, n.d. Web. 31 May 2010.
<http://ohioline.osu.edu/aex -fact/0480_57.html>.
Miami Conservancy District. Great Miami River Watershed. 30 May 2010
<http://www.miamiconservancy.org/water/gmrw.asp>.
"Source Water Protection." United States Environmental Protection
Agency. United States Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web.
9 Jun 2010.
<http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/lps21800/www.epa.gov/safewater/
protect/casest y/dayton.html>.