Environmental Stewardship Where does your water come from? What issues with wate
ID: 107385 • Letter: E
Question
Environmental Stewardship
Where does your water come from? What issues with water availability and/or quality affect you? What steps need to be taken to improve the situation? Write a paper in which you formulate and express your personal position in response to the above question. Your position should be based on reliable sources of information as well as your own personal values. Cite two or more reliable sources in your paper. Select a writing style of your choice, such as APA, MLA, or Chicago. Consistently apply the conventions associated with your selected writing style as you cite your sources in the text of your document. Also include the full resource information in a reference list at the conclusion of the document. This paper should be 3/4 to one page long, excluding your reference list. It should be no longer than one page double-spaced. Your paper should be well written. Practice good writing skills. Spelling and grammar are important and will be graded. Content There is no specific formula to writing a successful Position Paper, however, there are some important things that should be addressed (look at the course objectives for assistance), such as: Do you understand the core issue of this unit and can you explain it? Even if you do not agree with this issue, or see it as a concern, can you understand why others may see this as an important issue? Do you understand how you are involved in this issue? How do your personal choices and actions contribute to the bigger issue, even if your actions may seem insignificant? Can you see how this issue affects your life now or in the future, and how it may impact the choices that you will face? Have you considered a personal course of action, in regards to this issue? In other words, what can you do about it? (Include actions both little and big- do NOT just list some generic, lofty goals that are unrealistic or unattainable.)Explanation / Answer
Water is seemingly everywhere. You can pass by a local beach on your way to work and see ships sailing on the lake. You can feel it on your skin during a warm spring rain.
You can turn on the faucet in your kitchen right now to wash a bowl of vegetables or fruit. We drink water, bathe in it, and cook with it. Our easy access to water makes it appear nearly limitless.
Although water comprises 70% of Earth, only one percent of water is fresh and usable. This one percent of water comes from lakes, rivers, or the ground. Your water either comes from a public source (water treatment facilities) or from a private source (wells). And this water is the result of Earth’s water cycle.
During the water cycle, water moves from one reservoir to another in a continuous motion. The sun heats bodies of water, which causes the water to evaporate. As it evaporates, it rises higher in the atmosphere, where the cold temperatures cause the water vapor to condense into clouds. Cloud particles bond to each other, condensing the vapor and causing it to fall back into the bodies of water in the form of rain, sleet, or snow. The process is then repeated again, starting with the sun warming the bodies of water and causing evaporation.
Groundwater
About 20% of the world’s fresh water supply comes from groundwater. Rain and snow is collected underground in a “rock pocket” called an aquifer. Soil pore spaces in the ground become saturated with water, and this maximum depth is called the water table. Groundwater rises to the surface in the form of a spring. Groundwater may also be accessed by drilling a well into the ground.
Surface Water
Surface water is collected from precipitation and groundwater deposits that reach the surface. in wetlands, oceans, streams, or rivers. Most surface water is not drinkable without treatment, as it comes from the salinated ocean.
Issues with water availability-
Lead can be present in drinking water, as lead piping, lead solder and lead-lined water tanks were commonly used in plumbing up to and including the 1970s, so some people may still be getting water through these older plumbing systems. Lead is a danger to health, especially for young children, pregnant women and babies fed on formula, so water for drinking and cooking should contain as little lead as possible. The legal level of lead in drinking water is 10 micrograms per litre.
Several factors can affect the quality of drinking water sources (raw water). If there is high rainfall, for example, extra organic material may be washed into rivers and streams. Water treatment plants need to be able to deal with this. If rainfall is low, these sources can dry up altogether. Other factors affecting water sources include agricultural practices and the type of soil and underlying ground.
Factors affecting treated drinking water (finished water) include breakdown in the treatment process; lack of disinfection and filtration (or problems with them); problems with equipment; power outages or dirt in distribution pipes. Sometimes, poor quality is due to the water being drawn from an unsuitable source and the best solution is finding an alternative source.
Steps taken
Various public agencies have important roles to play, as follows:
Irish Water and local authorities
Irish Water is responsible for maintaining the public water supplies and ensuring the quality of the water it distributes. Local authorities are the supervisory authority for the water quality of private water supplies that are monitored under the Regulations. They also perform certain functions on behalf of Irish Water under service level agreements. See our document on Water supply.
If a water supply constitutes a danger to human health, Irish Water must take action to protect public health. It does this in consultation with and with the agreement of the HSE. It may issue a ‘Drinking Water Restriction Notice’. Alternatively it may issue a ‘Boil Water Notice’, warning that the water supply is not safe for human consumption unless boiled first. It must ensure that the public are made aware of the dangers as soon as possible.
If you get your water from the public mains system and have doubts about its quality, this may be due to deficiencies in your own plumbing system. If so, you are responsible for fixing the problem. A group water scheme that gets its water from the public mains system is also responsible for maintaining its own equipment.
However, if the problem is with the public mains system, this is the responsibility of Irish Water, which works with local authorities to respond to emergencies relating to water mains leaks and pollution incidents.
Rural Water Programme and monitoring committees
The local authorities administer the Rural Water Programme, which aims to improve the quality and efficiency of group water schemes, small public water and sewerage schemes, and private supplies where no alternative group or public supply is available.
Each county has a strategic rural water plan, pinpointing areas needing improvement and deciding how to make the most of grants and subsidies available for improving and maintaining water supply systems. Local authorities have compiled an inventory of group schemes and take note of the quality of their water supply. The overall aim of the plan must be to deliver water as efficiently and effectively as possible.
The National Rural Water Services Committeemonitors and advises on the development and implementation of policy on the Rural Water Programme. There are local committees in each county to enable water consumers to have a say in how the Programme is implemented. Each local authority has a County Liaison Officer to deal with day-to-day issues brought up by the Programme’s implementation.
Health Service Executive (HSE)
Under the Regulations, the HSE must be informed whenever poor water quality poses a potential danger to human health. The local authority then prepares an action programme in consultation with and with the agreement of the HSE.
In some areas, the Environmental Health section in the Local Health Office monitors water supplies on behalf of the local authority to make sure that all water sources meet the required public health standards. The HSE is also responsible for monitoring the fluoride content of public water supplies.
The HSE can also (for a fee) analyse water from a private source, such as a well. The fee cannot be more than the cost of the monitoring.
As noted above, the HSE also publishes advice and guidance on the dangers to human health caused by poor water quality.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The EPA collects information from Irish Water about the monitoring of regulated water supply schemes and produces a yearly report on the quality of drinking water in Ireland. It has enforcement powers in relation to the drinking water quality of public water supplies. These powers require Irish Water to notify the EPA (as well as the HSE) where there is a potential risk to human health and to comply with their directions.
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