Every living organism on earth needs water for survival. It is not simple to say that water is good or bad, but with the help of water quality testing, one can measure and study. Testing of water quality helps to measure the condition of water by checking the biological, chemical, and physical characteristics of water (Fewtrell, 2001). When the result of the test shows that there are so many impurities in water, it will not be usable for its intended purpose because the impurities make water not fit for use. This paper will focus a water quality report of 2016 on Kerr Lake Regional Water System by identifying water quality issues and sources of pollution to the water in the system.
According to the report, there are some of the issues to do with water quality where one of them is the lead pollution in water. The primary source of lead in drinking water in homes is the materials and components associated with service line and home plumbing (Troesken, 2008). Most of the piping for water supply has the lead as part of the component, therefore, making it hard to eradicate the lead pollution. It is therefore advisable that one should flash the tap for at least 30 seconds to 2 minutes before fetching water from the tap. This is to ensure that the lead accumulates in the pipe gets out of the pipe before one fetches water for drinking or cooking. Lead is a dangerous poison especially to young children and expectant mothers because it causes serious health problems (Troesken, 2008).
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Cross-connection of water pipes and other piping that supply things like chemicals, irrigation water contributes to the pollution of clean water for human consumption. The contamination occurs when there is a pressure difference in the fresh water pipes and other pipes crossing one another. When there is high pressure in pipes let us say supplying water for irrigation, it may forces the content into the pipes providing clean water hence contaminating the fresh water in the pipes (Ellis, 2015). At home, garden hoses and outside water taps are the leading sources of cross-contamination. Garden hoses become dangerous when the farmer uses it to supply herbicides because it will retain the chemicals that will eventually pollute the clean water.
Water pollution is harmful not only to human beings but also to the environment. Lead poisoning is dangerous because it interferes with the development of unborn children affecting bone and brain development (Troesken, 2008). Lead can also find its way into fishponds where fish tend to accumulate the poison and the moment human beings feeds on the fish they get massive doses of lead poisons into their bodies. Pollutants from agricultural activities are also causing serious issues both to aquatic animals and to human beings. Fish are very sensitive to the chemicals for instance herbicides, and the moment the compounds reaches water ponds all the fishes can die (Azizullah, 2011). Humans also need to take care when using such chemicals because some can cause skin irritation or causes blindness if it gets into eyes.
There are management practices in place to ensure that it minimizes or eradicate water pollution. One of them is that of flushing water from the tap between 30 seconds to 2 minutes ensuring that the accumulation of lead is out of the pipe before fetching water for cooking or drinking (Azharul Haq, 2006). Use of plastic tubes is also advisable because they do not have the lead as its components. Avoiding cross-connection is another measure that prevents contamination of clean water in the pipes by preventing contact between clean water pipes with other piping systems. This is essential because it prevents the issue of backpressure where pollutants in the other pipe find way into the clean water pipe leading to contamination. Installation of valves that prevent backflow of water is another way of preventing water from getting pollutants other connections at home.
In conclusion, water is essential for survival, but the resource is facing many challenges of pollution. Metal pipes of the service and supply components are the leading cause of lead poisoning in clean water. Cross-connection of fresh water pipes with other system is another source of water pollution especially when there is a pressure difference in pipes that are in contact. The pollution in water cause health and environmental issues and controlling pollution is therefore necessary.
References
Azharul Haq, K. (2006). Water management in Dhaka. Water Resources Development, 22(2) , 291-311.
Azizullah, A. K. (2011). Water pollution in Pakistan and its impact on public health—a review. Environment international, 37(2) , 479-497.
Ellis, J. B. (2015). Surface water sewer misconnections in England and Wales: Pollution sources and impacts. Science of the Total Environment, 526 , 98-109.
Fewtrell, L. &. (2001). Water Quality: Guidelines, Standards & Health. IWA publishing.
Troesken, W. (2008). Lead water pipes and infant mortality at the turn of the twentieth century. Journal of Human Resources, 43(3) , 553-575.
