Issues of Unfiltered Water
Unfiltered water has many cons that can be addressed. One of them is that there are many affected places that are consuming dirty water. Unfiltered water is unhealthy and can harm the human body. There are ways typical people can help the environment and people suffering from the effects of grimy water.
There are some solutions such as building a local well in places that aren’t fortunate enough to have pure drinking water. Contaminated water is unhealthy and many people around the United States are being affected by it, and there are ways that this can be stopped. Across the world, many small towns, cities, and even states as a whole are suffering from drinking unclean water. One city, Philadelphia, has been proven as one of the worst testing areas in the US. Their lead contamination is high, and studies from peer reviewed science showed that any amount of lead consumption is healthy for humans.
“Despite warnings of regulators and experts, water departments in at least 33 cities used testing methods over the past decade that could underestimate lead found in drinking water”-This quote is from Charles P. Pierce describing where states are being affected by the lead contamination. Michigan in particular has a big issue; “In Michigan, a department of environmental quality (MDEQ) official told the director of a town water department in a Detroit suburb called Howell to “bump this one out”, referring to a sample with high lead levels, by taking additional samples.”It is 2017, and it’s been long enough for the world to figure out how to prevent lead consumption from water. The world has many good improvements and this is one that needs to be worked on, especially in certain areas. Lead sample tests in Michigan are not up to standard, therefore it needs to be fixed.
The reason the government should be taking full awareness with lead sample test standards is because there are very harmful side effects. The side effects of lead consumption are: the lead can affect the brain, liver, kidney, and bones. It is stored mainly in the teeth and bones, and it is released into the blood when pregnant which affects the fetus. Although the effects are bad, there are ways to prevent lead consumption in water. The temperature of the water, the amount of wear in the pipes, how long the water stays in pipes, and the presence of protective scales or coatings inside the plumbing materials. Once it’s in the body, lead fights against calcium to be absorbed by the body.
Children are exposed to lead in paint, dust, soil, air, and food, as well as drinking water. “It sticks to red blood cells—doctors usually test the blood for proof of exposure to lead—and then moves into soft tissues, like the liver and lungs. If lead is absorbed into bones, it can stay there for decades and recirculate in the person’s blood if a bone is broken or when a woman is pregnant, potentially p. oisoning both the mother and the fetus.” That describes the medical side of lead poisoning. The side effects of lead contamination can cause one to feel are loss of appetite, vomiting, or abdominal pain.
Since one cannot see, taste, or smell lead dissolved in water, testing is the only sure way of telling whether there are harmful quantities of lead in your drinking water. To prevent lead consumption or make sure the water isn’t contaminated, try taking a water test. Or remember some helpful tips; 1. Take a detailed look at your outdoor surfaces because they can collect harmful bacteria, 2. Remember your toilet isn’t a trash can, 3.
Pick up trash. Everyday, a difference can be made to make water cleaner. By taking a hard look at your outdoor surfaces, you find that stormwater flows across hard materials, like concrete or asphalt, and into storm drains—bringing all the dirty stuff it picked up along the way. (Meaning days, months, and years of buildup). Also, never flush non-degradable products, like baby wipes or plastic tampon applicators.
They can cause problems for the sewage treatment process and which ends up littering beaches and water. Lastly, simply picking up trash is so effective because trash naturally gets squished into the sewers and has to be filtered into the water we drink today. The cons of unfiltered water consumption are that drinking water with lead can harm the human body, people from all around the globe are suffering. Lastly, there are ways we as a can help and prevent dirty water around the world. We can simply watch what goes down our toilet, or even pick up some trash on the ground.
The main side effects of drinking water with lead are problems in the brain, kidneys, bones, and the liver. The places where people are highly exposed to dirty water are Philadelphia and Michigan. Overall, people are being affected by drinking dirty water, and there are ways citizens can help. In the United States, citizens also the take our clean drinking water for granted. But as the experience in Michigan demonstrated, it is important for the government to carefully monitor the quality of the water supply.
Works Cited: January 05, 2016 Andrew Postman. “6 Ways You Can Help Keep Our Water Clean.” NRDC, 28 July 2017. Everpure. “The Dangers of Unfiltered Water.” The Dangers Of Unfiltered Water.
Ossola, Alexandra. “Lead In Water: What Are The Health Effects And Dangers?” Popular Science, 18 Jan. 2016.
