Obtain a water quality report from your local municipality within the last two years and discuss what you found in the report?
Regarding water from Wayside Estates water system and Iredell Water Corporation, the results obtained from the Annual Drinking Water Report, in the year 2018 indicated that the water was fit for human consumption (BASE, 2018) . Given that it met or exceeded all the standards put by different bodies associated with water quality, the water could be deemed fit for consumption. The institutions that established the water quality standards are, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to the state laws as well as the Federal laws, drinking water must be checked regularly against one hundred and fifty contaminants ( Hunter & Waterman, 2016) . Streams, ponds, lakes, and rivers form the sources for the drinking water available as both tap water and bottled water in the United States.
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Identify a water quality issue happening in your community and where the pollution comes from? This includes point sources (for example, water discharge from a factory; contamination from a Superfund site), Non-point sources (for example, agricultural runoff), and Natural sources.
The quality issue in my community emanates, especially from agricultural practices. Majorly the quality of water from private wells is compromised, given the farming practices that include rearing of livestock. Animal operations contribute mostly to the contamination of the private wells because of the release of slurry and other animal wastes that find its way into the water directly or through seepage ( Leip et al., 2015) . Given a scenario where animal wastes are not handled properly, then slurry from animals like cattle in the form of cow dung and urine find its way into the water sources. Infiltration of such animal wastes into the water introduces harmful pathogens, for instance, bacteria. The other cause of pollution can be attributed to land use, and chemicals like pesticides sprayed on crops. During the rainy season, the chemicals find their way into the water through seepage in the ground. Additionally, soil runoff gets into the water, causing sedimentation, contaminating the water not only for the water in the private wells but it affects other water sources like rivers ( Neher, 2018) .
Describe how the pollution source is impacting the environment and human health in your community and provide two examples of each.
The pollution source impacts negatively on both human and environmental health. Concerning human health, the pollution from agricultural sources can cause diseases among people in the community ( Yu, 2016) . Wastes from livestock productions such as piggery units and cattle units contain disease-causing microorganisms hence causing infectious diseases in human beings that include cholera, typhoid, and typhoid. From the agricultural chemicals leaked into the water sources, they cause effects on humans, for example, the development of skin rush after bathing with the water and other long term effects resulting from drinking the water.
Regarding environmental health, pollution from soil run-off leads to siltation in water sources such as wells. Removal of such soils from the wells distorts the environment because it may involve heaping the mud around the well. Chemicals used for agricultural processes cause significant damage to some of the microflora in the environment due to chemical poisoning. Additionally, the chemicals that seep into the soils kill important organisms in the soil responsible for essential aspects as soil aeration ( Canter, 2018). The organisms include earthworms.
Identify three management practices to minimize water pollution.
The management practices suitable for minimizing water pollution include avoiding the use of pesticides. Pesticides contribute to harmful components in water; thus, monitoring networks should be put in place to capture the real state of water pollution as far as water bodies are concerned. Steps like those of Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development (OECD) countries should be followed since they have strategies of controlling water pollution, especially from agricultural sources ( Ripa et al., 2006) .
Using erosion and sediment control method is also crucial in preventing water pollution. Adopting practices that conserve the soil to avoid it reaching water bodies should be adhered to, for example, building of gabions and planting groundcover vegetation to prevent runoff soil from reaching water bodies ( Ripa et al., 2006) . Urban management practices are critical in managing water pollution also. Such practices include using and disposing of household chemicals wisely. The management practice involves avoiding pouring chemicals such as paint directly into storm drains or pouring oil onto the yard.
References
BASE, T. D. A. F. (2018). Annual Drinking Water Quality Report.
Canter, L. W. (2018). Environmental impact of water resource projects . CRC Press.
Hunter, S., & Waterman, R. W. (2016). Enforcing the Law: Case of the Clean Water Acts: Case of the Clean Water Acts . Routledge.
Leip, A., Billen, G., Garnier, J., Grizzetti, B., Lassaletta, L., Reis, S., ... & Westhoek, H. (2015). Impacts of European livestock production: nitrogen, sulphur, phosphorus and greenhouse gas emissions, land-use, water eutrophication and biodiversity. Environmental Research Letters , 10 (11), 115004.
Neher, D. (2018). Ecological sustainability in agricultural systems: definition and measurement. In Integrating sustainable agriculture, ecology, and environmental policy (pp. 51-61). Routledge.
Ripa, M. N., Leone, A., Garnier, M., & Porto, A. L. (2006). Agricultural land use and best management practices to control nonpoint water pollution. Environmental Management , 38 (2), 253-266.
Yu, M. H., Tsunoda, H., & Tsunoda, M. (2016). Environmental toxicology: biological and health effects of pollutants . crc press.
