The Houston Water Quality: Is It Really Up to your Standards? According to Forbes Magazine Houston, Texas is known for being one of the dirtiest cities within the United States. When I was conducting research on the city’s water quality, I was surprised to learn how well the city really does take care of their water supply. Contradictory to what I first thought, Houston actually has average or normal amounts of contaminates; their scores were all passing for pollutes found in their drinking water and in fact is one of the best water supplies in the Unites States.. Overall the city also seems to care more about their water safety than what I assumed too, given “providing safe and reliable drinking water is their highest priority.”(1) On …show more content…
The organization is required by the Drinking Water Operations or DWO to point out contaminants and tell consumers if the water they are using is safe. (2). Along with AWWA and DWO’s assessment, Houston, Texas has completed numerous, extensive studies of research and found that in 2014 the average number of Chloramine levels was at 2.2%, and the maximum number of Chloramine levels was at 4%. As for inorganic contaminants like Selenium or Arsenic, both were at levels less than average. Studies show that the Arsenic was considered low in this water supply, surely a relief to those drinking the water. I would be terrified if I had found higher doses within the tap. The Arsenic levels were at an average of 1.4ppb and a maximum of 4.4pbb, where the Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCGL) was an average of 0pbb to a maximum of 10pbb. The Selenium levels were at an average of 1.0pbb and a maximum of 11pbb and MCGL was a max of 50pbb and an average of 50pbb found. In 2011, the Arsenic levels were at of an average 0.2pbb and a maximum of 5.2pbb. The Selenium levels were at an average of 2pbb and a maximum of 10pbb. Overall, amounts of E coli and Coliform have actually decreased. Houston once had a Highest Monthly Percentage Sample of 0.9% present which is now about 0
From 10 bottled water brands tested by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found “38 pollutants in total, which ran from disinfection products, arsenic, fertilizer residue, plasticizers and pharmaceuticals” (“New Study” 3). “New Study” mentions the government’s requirement on water utilities to notify of any pollutants in the water, which manufacturers of bottled water are not required to do at all. If consumers do not have any idea what’s in their water, then they cannot trust that water like they can tap water. Bottled water has multiple unseen risks associated with just drinking it. These three articles bring up multiple issues created by the mass popularity of bottled water.
Lake Erie has been a huge topic for Ohioans due to how polluted the water is. Lake Erie is Ohio's biggest water source, and that being polluted is not good for Ohio and other states that use Lake Erie’s water. Though this is not the first time this has happened before, in 1960 the lake was VERY polluted due to heavy industries lined up on the shore lines. Lake Erie called the “Dead Lake” for how much pollution was in it, and how many dead fish there were.
INTRO: Air pollution is a worldwide human health risk that affects people of all social classes. The most polluted cities can be found in developed countries such as the United States, China, and the UK. Although air pollution can be the result of natural phenomena such as volcanoes and storms, much of today’s issues stem from anthropogenic i.e. human, causes. Houston, Texas is one of the largest cities in the United States and, unfortunately, the quality of their atmosphere reflects the city’s expansive area, many shipping ports, chemical plants, and high traffic.
" Over 50% of the United States population depends on groundwater for drinking water. Groundwater is also one of our most important sources of water." (The Groundwater Foundation Paragraph 1) To pollutants groundwater is now susceptible.
The chemicals also lead to health problems, and illness. In Michigan there are many cities, each one of those cities no matter how small or large they are each has an annual water report. This annual report tells you how the water source is being cleaned, how polluted it is, If there is any boiling effects, or witch cities have
Water from rivers is not suitable for drinking, but every day millions of people have to walk kilometers to drink dirty river water. This water is contaminated, and people who drink it get sick, and can't afford medical assistance. ““The number of cases of diarrhea among children has increased some 70 percent in Anbar since the beginning of 2006. Among adults, the increase is 40 percent because they are more resistant than infants,” said Dr. Khalifa Kubaissy.” (Unknown, 2015, p.1).
Water contamination is one the world wide problems, which is directly affecting living organisms. There are several variety causes water pollutants like synthetic dyes used for textile dyeing, paper, plastics, leather, food, cosmetic industry, and other printing industries that causes severe ecological problems, because of their unacceptable color, biological degradation, toxicity, and carcinogenic properties, they are of great concern.[1]. In order to solve this problem, many of researchers have developed some methods to degrading harmful dye from contaminated water like adsorption, flocculation, electrolyte decomposition, ion exchange method, biological methods, etc. These conventional methods are not suitable at large scale due to high
r is in fact as high as the price of gasoline. Although some consumers may be willing to pay high prices for higher safety, the NRDC warns that while regulations are in place to safeguard bottled water, these are not applied universally and bottlers are not required to let consumers know that their product may be contaminated. The NRDC tested more than 100 brands of bottled water and found evidence of contamination in single samples of at least a third of the brands the agency tested. Aside from the water itself, the plastic containers are sources of pollution and may contribute to contaminating the water they contain. Dr. Todd Jarvis, the associate director of the Institute for Water and Watersheds at Oregon State University , calculated that
The concentration of microscopic algae and quantities of pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals, and other contaminants also factors to measured water quality. Experts have worked internationally including in the United State for the past decades and have designed the term Water Quality Index (WQI) in the need for
Water is very important to protract civilization (Gleick, 1998; Vitousek et al., 1997), but with a rising global human population, and alteration in weather types as a result of climate change, there are extending concerns and issues with quality and quantity of water for human use. The major topic of concerns is increasing incidences of microbial and chemical pollution in water (Schwarzenbach, et al., 2010; Vorosmarty et al., 2000). This becomes a serious health hazard if the drinking water is contaminated by any types of contaminant. The bacterial contamination is the most numerous type of contamination present in drinking water. This contaminated drinking water can cause gastro-intestinal illness.