Why we should care
Have you ever wondered what can get into your water? There are many
pathogens in our water. Our water can cause many impacts on us. There are some
drug traces in our water. Did you know pesticides can get in our water? Point source
pollution is a major factor in water pollution. Pathogens, pesticides, and disease effect
our drinking water so it is useable.
There are many pathogens in the world that people suffer from. Pathogens are
microbes that cause disease. Pathogens have a few types of bacteria, viruses,
protozoa, and organisms. Total califorms are mostly harmless bacteria that live in
topsoil, water, and the gut of animals. When total califorms are visible in the water it’s
most likely contaminated. Cryptosporidium are single celled microbes also known as
protozoa. These microbes may cause disease called cryptosporidiosis when ingested.
The symptoms range from mild stomach aches to life threatening disease. Giardia
lamblia (referred to as giadia) are also single celled microbes known as protozoa. IT can
cause a disease called giardiasis which causes the frequent diarrhea problems. The
symptoms include diarrhea, fatigue, and cramps. Water born giardiasis occurs as a
result of disinfecting problems or bad filtration procedures. All these pathogens are the
most common ones seen in the world. (Drinking water Pathogens and their indicators)
There are serious impacts and diseases that can effect us from our drinking
water and can come from natural and human made pollutions. The main source of
water pollution is from untreated waste, dumping from industries, and agricultural runoff. Also areas of ground water and surface water are affected by persistent organic
pollution and have a variety of health problems. Water born diseases and water caused
health problems are mostly caused by improper care of a water resources. An example
would be leaky water pipes that pass by sewage pipes and mix together. Other pollution
of water would be run-off from backyards, golf courses, and farms containing pesticides
like DDT that will contaminate drinking water. Waste and other thing can contaminate
water but there are worse side effects.
Leechate chemicals from land fill sites can cause harmful damage to an
ecosystem, like health of animals. Ground water is contaminated by pesticide in the soil.
Fluoride can cause damaging of the spinal cord. Arsenic in the water can cause skin
cancer and liver damage. Untreated sewage, industrial effluents, and agricultural waste
get into bodies of water and effect swimming in that water. Heavy metal waste that
comes from mining waste, landfills, and hazardous waste dumps make the water
unusable. Water is a chief median for spreading diseases.
Most intestinal diseases are from fecal waste. Pathogens include viruses,
bacteria, and parasitic worms. Hepatitis, cholera, dysentery, and typhoid are common
water diseases. Untreated water provides a habitat for mosquito's and other insects and
parasites that carry and pass on diseases. Salt that gets into water makes it unusable
for drinking and farming. Nitrates in water can be fatal for infants. Mercury from
companies can get into the water, the fish absorb it, and people will eat the fish and will
get MeHg (methyl mercury). These reasons above are why we should care and protect
our water sources. (Health impacts of water pollution)
Point source pollution is still a big factor in water pollution. Point source pollution
or point sources is when stuff that makes water undrinkable enters the environment
through different ways. Those ways could be a pipe, ditch, tunnel, smokestack, or
conduct. Make sure you do not mix up Point source pollution with non- point source
pollution. The difference between the two is point sources is when the stuff that makes
water undrinkable is in a moving source when non- point source pollution is when the
non drinkable water stays in one place like a lake or pond. Sewage treatment plants
can also be a big point source factor. The sewage plants would treat the water badly
and send it back out to the public. Since the water was treated badly it becomes a
drinking and bathing hazard since chemicals are in it. A lot of water pollution is still
caused by point source pollution. (Point source)
You cannot see or taste them, but there are traces of prescription drugs in the
water that we drink. Scientists have found 5-7 different prescription drugs. Scientists
don’t know what these drugs do to us over time. “The concern is we don’t know what
these do in the body over a lifetime of exposure,” Buckley said. “Utility companies say
that medicines can be found in the drinking water, but at levels so low there is little
danger.” “One can drink 50,000 glasses of water a day without any adverse health
effects.” I would rather be safe and not drink the water than get sick from drinking the
water. “I used to flush Ibuprofen down the toilet than have my small children consume
them,” said Kirsten Calia. I would never flush ANY type of drug down the toilet; I would
not want to drink drugs. (traces of drugs in drinking water)
Did you know that there are pesticides in our water? A pesticide is bug poison,
and it’s in our water. Pesticides can be very bad for our health and can make us very
sick. There are seven different pesticides. The names of those pesticides are Azinphosmetthy, Chlorpyrifos, Diazinon, Endosulfan Dacthal, Ethoprop, and Simazine. Diazinon
is the pesticide that farmers use for their crops. There is at least one pesticide in every
water source we use. Although, there are other possible reasons that cause the
pesticides get in are water like septic tanks and pipe leaks. Do you think that because of
this we should stop using pesticides?(Pesticides in groundwater).
Now you know what can get into your water and what can get into you water
system. Now that you have heard this information you might want to hear more. Since
you have read this paper you can see what can get into your drinking water.