Potable Water: Sources, Problems, and Solutions

Caroline MilesGeography 543

What You Will Learn TodayThe two sources of potable (drinking-quality)

waterSome ways that we pollute our water systems

Example from Flint, MISolution to deal with potable water access

Example from India

The Two Drinking Water SourcesSurface water

Rivers, lakes, streams, reservoirsGround water

Aquifers

What is Hattiesburg’s drinking water source?

USGS. 2016. Hydrology. Retrieved February 28, 2016 from http://water.usgs.gov/edu/hydrology.html.

An Aquifer!Specifically, from the

Mississippi Embayment Aquifer System

USGS. 2015. Aquifer Basics. Retrieved February 25, 2016 from http://water.usgs.gov/ogw/aquiferbasics/uncon.html

But What is An Aquifer? USGS says,

“A formation, group of formations, or part of a formation that contains sufficient saturated, permeable material to yield significant quantities of water to wells and springs.”

USGS. 2015. Aquifer Basics. Retrieved February 25, 2016 from http://water.usgs.gov/ogw/aquiferbasics/uncon.html

USGS. 2014. Water QualityPoster. Retrieved February 26, 2016 from http://water.usgs.gov/outreach/Posters/water_quality/grade.html

How we pollute the waterPoint Sources

Factories- smoke stacks, drainage into water sourcesWastewater treatment plants

Non-point sourcesRunoff from parking lots, farms, garbage leachate…

What are some water pollution sources around Hattiesburg?

NOAA. 2008. A Brief History of Pollution. Retrieved March 1, 2016 from http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/pollution/02history.html.

Tap Water Trust IssuesSafe Drinking Water

Act (1974) allowed the EPA to set contaminant level limits in public drinking water systems

It was put in place to keep Flint, MI from happening

EPA. 2015. Safe Water Drinking Act Summary. Retrieved March 1, 2016 from http://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-safe-drinking-water-act.

The Flint Water Crisis Still HappenedLead in the waterEPA max lead levels:

15 ppbFlint levels: 27 ppb

(EPA)But VA Tech

registered a sample at 158 ppb

Ingraham, Christopher. 2016. This is how toxic the Flint water really is. The Washington Post. January 15. Retrieved February 28, 2016 from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/01/15/this-is-how-toxic-flints-water-really-is/

Map source: Musser, K. 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2016 from https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/poisoned-water-in-flint-what-you-need-to-know/

What went wrong?Pollutants in the Flint

River were really highThey over-treated the

water with chlorineThe water was more

acidic and corroded old lead pipes

This put lead in the drinking water

Carmody, Tim. 2016. How the Flint River Got So Toxic. The Verge. February 26. Retrieved February 27, 2016 from http://www.theverge.com/2016/2/26/11117022/flint-michigan-water-crisis-lead-pollution-history

Photo credit: Sanborn, J. 2016. Flint’s Water Crisis Explained in 3 GIFs. Time. Retrieved March 1, 2016 from http://time.com/4191864/flint-water-crisis-lead-contaminated-michigan/.

How to fix Flint?The infrastructure

will have to be redone to eliminate the corroded lead pipes

This is expensive and will take time but it is what has to be done

Semuels, Alana. 2015. Aging pipes are poisoning America’s tap water. The Atlantic. Retrieved February 22, 2016:http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/07/dont-drink-the-water/399803/  Granlund, D. 2016. “Flint Michigan Lead in

Water..” Retireved March 1, 2016 from https://www.politicalcartoons.com/cartoon/97486e44-78a1-4ebd-b435-0047318fdecc.html

Solutions in the Mean Time? AMRIT filtersNanotechnology

filters out heavy metals (such as lead, arsenic, and mercury) plus can be used to filter out microbes

Suggested use in Flint, MI after success in India

Janin, Alex. 2016. This $16 water filter could save 100,000 lives a year. Takepart. Retrieved February 24, 2016:http://www.takepart.com/article/2016/02/24/16-dollar-water-filter-save-100000-lives-year

AMRIT Filters $16 for the family-

sized filter, lasts a year

Does not need electricity to work

Cleans microbes and chemicals from water

Source of potable water for Developing World

Serving up to 500,000 in India currently

Janin, Alex. 2016. This $16 water filter could save 100,000 lives a year. Takepart. Retrieved February 24, 2016:http://www.takepart.com/article/2016/02/24/16-dollar-water-filter-save-100000-lives-year

Additional ResourcesUSGS Water http://www.usgs.gov/water/

EPA http://www.epa.gov/learn-issues/learn-about-water

Hattiesburg water http://www.hattiesburgms.com/government/departments/water-sewer/