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Drinking Water
Life Canot Exist Without
Water
Only three percent (3%) of the worlds
water is drinkable. Of that three percent only one half of one percent
(.5%) is available for use. Most drinking water is taken from both
surface and ground water resources.
Copyright 2002 by TASA Graphics Arts, Inc.
Drinking Water: Pollution
Freshwater is a renewable resource, however
it can become so contaminated by pollution that it is unsafe to consume.
There are three general problems facing streams:
1) Physical alterations
to temperature and stream flow, or excessive sediment from erosion.
2) Organic pollution
and enrichment which is the prescence of human and animal wastes.
3) Toxicity meaning
chemical pollutants.
Every year, thirty to fifty percent (30 -50%)
of drinkable water in the
United States is wasted. For example, a single person will use
 13,000
gallonsof drinking water a year to flush toilets.
Pollutants from waste water inhabit both
surface and ground water.
Bacteria, viruses, and parasites in water
come from untreated or inadequately treated human and animal waste,
along with food processing factories.
Water is most commonly disinfected and treated
using chlorine. The chemical identification of chlorine is Cl, however
other chlorine compounds such as sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl, or common
household bleach), or calcium hypochlorite (CaOC12) used in bleaching
powders are some of the components in bleach. Cleaners found in the
home are also dangerous to our drinking water and need to be disposed
of carefully.
A common misconception is that dangerous chemicals
are filtered from water as it seeps through the ground. However, plants
do play an important role in filtering fresh water supplies. Plants
trap trash and particles of sediment, and also take up toxic pollutants
and nutrients.
In 1972 Congress passed the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act, which is more commonly
known as the Clean Water Act, to legally
assist in protecting water and water systems in the United States.
The Clean Water Act set penalities on dumping dangerous chemicals
into the water ways. A national goal was set in the Clean Water Act
to end the discharge of pollutants into water ways by 1985.
Although fresh water is a renewable resource,
polluntants effect water ecosystems.
Photo Courtesy of the USDA
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Poisonous chemicals such as lead, mercury, chromium and other heavy
metals such as alkalis kill the organisms that decompose organic waste.
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