It’s no mystery that having clean water is a fundamental element to living in a prosperous society and one of the few things essential for human survival. Water not only sustains our health, but is required in making everything from electronics to clothes. Clean water may seem as ordinary as putting on your shoes, but it’s a daily party of our life that’s being threatened.
On September 12, 2013, environmental groups filed a law suit against Duke Energy for their inability to properly clean up toxic ash, which has caused the pollution of Sutton Lake and severe groundwater pollution in the surrounding area (WWAY). In particularly, the environmental group claims that, “coal ash pollution threatens to destroy the fishery of Sutton Lake and is moving to the groundwater wells that supply the drinking water for the nearby by community.”
Problems like these are just one of the many causes of water pollution. Coal, storm water, and pigs are some of the biggest threats to the Cape Fear River, the ocean, and other bodies of water that surround Wilmington. In this paper, we will focus on causes and effects of water pollution then look at some possible solutions for the problems, particularly here in Wilmington.
Storm water runoff is the biggest polluter of streams, creeks, rivers and ocean water systems. “Nationwide, storm water is a leading source of water pollution. About thirteen percent of U.S. rivers, eighteen percent of lakes and thirty-two percent of estuaries are classified as impaired by storm water, which means they are rendered unsafe for swimming or fishing. It also contributes to the degradation of many other waterways” (Coefield, 2010, p.1). The improperly disposed coal waste from Duke Energy easily percolates through t...
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...: Effect on ecosystem services and needed change in environmental leadership. (Master’s Thesis, Duke University). Retrieved from http://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/10161/5328/MP_CAFOs_Olivier_ FINAL_doc.pdf?sequence=1
Pollution prevention factsheet: Animal waste collection. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.stormwatercenter.net/Pollution_Prevention_Factsheets/AnimalWasteCollection.htm
The Trouble with North Carolina’s Factory Hog Farms. Retrieved from http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/food/factoryfarms/north-carolina-factory-farms
Warrick, J. (1995). The Impact of Hog Farms. The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina.
WWAY. "Environmental groups file suit about Sutton Plant pollution." wwaytv3.com. WWay 3 News Center, 12 9 2013. Web. 16 Nov 2013. .
Exxon/Mobil, one of the nation’s leading oil producers, has its main refinery located in Beaumont, Texas. Each year, the residents of Beaumont/Port Arthur have to contend with the 39,000 pounds of pollution spewed each year by the Exxon refinery. Exxon’s emissions are 385% above the state refinery average. In 1999, the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Committee (TNRCC) allowed the plant to increase their emissions, without allowing the public to have a say in the matter. Interestingly, 95% of the people living near the plant are of African American descent and are in the poverty range. Some believe that this, along with the lack of education in the area, allows Exxon to get away with such high emissions. Residents in nearby neighborhoods have been complaining of headaches, nausea, eye, and throat irritation for years. Since 1997, Mobil has repeatedly violated health standards in its emissions of two key air pollutants: sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, These “rotten egg” smells are so strong, one can smell it through a car driving past the refinery. After numerous complaints and one record of a refinery worker becoming unconscious because of the fumes, the EPA awarded Exxon with a $100,000 environmental justice grant in October of 1998. Hopefully, Exxon has put the money to good use and cleaned up their emissions.
This is an important topic. It affects the overall health of the population surrounding the Chesapeake Bay, as we eat from it quite often and it can be used as a water source. The chemicals being released into the water are from coal-burning factories and runoff, which can be helped, but it’s almost impractical in this day and age to spend the amount of money required to do so without the technology that can guarantee a fix.
Humans need water. In a world that is overpopulated, we use a lot of water and other natural resources. Currently, in our world, clean water is getting scarce. Recently, for example, Flint, Michigan, had a water crisis. In early 2016, the water was discovered to be tainted with lead and other toxins. Long before that, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and Governor Rick Snyder along with his council, knew about the lead, but to save money for the city of Flint in early 2014 Snyder had changed the city’s water source to the Flint River which had corroded pipes, causing people of all ages to be sick from the high amounts of lead
Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable. GLRPPR, 12 Dec. 2013. Web. 15 Dec. 2013. .
The Chesapeake Bay is polluted with agricultural waste. We see things like 1.5 billion pounds of chicken waste that no one wants to take responsibility for. Ignoring standards, a waterway was tested for E. coli; the standard is 125 FCU/100ml of water. Yet this waterway’s level was at 48392 FCU/100ml. An industry that will go to great lengths to make sure that Congress doesn’t impose sanction against them.
our pipelines and sewers where it goes to a treatment plant to be treated, but
In the news we hear about all the problems with water pollution in third-world countries, making the problem feel sort of foreign to us. However, water pollution is much closer to your home than you might think. As a matter of fact all kinds of different pollution affects us all the time, it can be in the food we eat, the air we breathe, and the water we drink. Pollution has plagued our beloved Buckeye Lake and we intend use the process of dredging to provide a short-term solution, until another, more permanent solution is put in place.
The Chesapeake Bay has faced an excessive amount of pollution over the past century. The water in the bay has become so highly polluted that It is capable of causing harm to humans coming in direct contact with the water. Although algae serves a vital role in the bay’s ecosystem, it also creates a problem that is causing a large amount of the problem.
This is because only a small part of the population, particularly in developing countries, have access to water of acceptable quality. It is estimated that in some countries only 20% of the rural population has water of satisfactory quality. Based on these statistics, it is clear the urgent need for awareness about caring for water use. Almost without realizing it, we are seriously jeopardizing this essential resource, not for us but for our children's children and their generations, aware that in other parts o...
"Water Pollution." Current Issues: Macmillan Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 5 May 2014.
Clean water is needed for good human and animal health, but as DoSomething.org states, over 1 billion people worldwide don’t have a means of getting clean drinking water, an...
Freshwater is quite scarce, but it is even scarcer than one might think: about seventy percent of all freshwater is frozen in the icecaps of Antarctica and Greenland and is unavailable to humans. Most of the remainder is present as soil moisture or lies in deep underground aquifers as groundwater. It is not economically feasible to extract this waster for use as drinking water. This leaves less than one percent of the world’s fresh water that is available to humans. It includes the water found in lakes, reservoirs, groundwater that is shallow enough to be tapped at an affordable cost. These freshwater sources are the only sources that are frequently replenished by rain and snowfall, and therefore are renewable. At the current rates of consumption, however, this supply of fresh water will not last. Pollution and contamination of freshwater sources exacerbate the problem, further reducing the amount of freshwater available for human consumption. Something must be done if humans want to even survive in the near future: the lack of clean drinking water is already the number one cause of disease in the world today. The first step is worldwide awareness of the water crisis: governments and the citizens they govern worldwide need to know about this problem and be actively involved in solving this problem.
Water Pollution is a current issue that has serious consequences; it progresses everyday in our lakes, oceans, rivers and other bodies of water.
Having clean water to drink means that water must have microbial, chemical and physical characteristics that meet WHO guidelines or national standards on drinking water quality. Around 780 million people in the world don’t have access to clean drinking water (Millions Lack Safe Water). More than 3.4 million people die each year from water, sanitation, and hygiene-related causes. Nearly all deaths, 99 percent, occur in developing countries. Around the world, diseases in unclean water kill about 1,400 children every day (Clean Drinking Water). There are many organizations that raise money in order to help develop ways or create ways for people to obtain clean drinking water. However, many people are unaware that this is even a problem in other countries because we take clean water for granted.
As of this year, nearly 1.1 billion people live without clean drinking water and 2.6 billion live without adequate water sanitation. The McDonald's down the street, however, will sell you a 1/3 pounder burger for only 150 gallons. Changes in lifestyle can easily reduce this number and help not only save water, but money as well. Currently, with our diminishing water supply, one of the main goals of humanitarian organizations is ensuring that everyone has the right and equality to water. With global access to water, it reduces the responsibility for political tension between countries fighting to literally stay alive.