Safe Drinking Water
Public Health
Safe Drinking Water
Bodies of water cover seventy-five percent of the world, yet water continues to be the quickest depleting natural resource on our planet. Drinking water can be drawn from surface fresh water or underground reservoirs. Yet only 1% of the water on the earth is available for human use, the rest remains too salty, polluted, or is locked away in polar ice caps. One half of the global population is currently faced with a crisis of water shortages. These shortages come from poor sanitization, overuse by the agricultural industry and consumers, and the exploding population growth in emerging markets. It is a growing issue of concern in the field of Environmental Public Health heightening the need to spread awareness of the importance of the global water supply and the strengthen the efforts being made to slow depletion, prevent contamination and advance investment in purification technologies.
The growing concern of water safety stems from the availability of clean water sources. Many substances that are in the soil can contaminate underground water sources. Industrial pollutants and pesticides are often filtered through the soil and can end up in our drinking water supplies. Another threat to the water supply is the risk of underground storage tanks of gas and oil that may could leak creating contamination to a our water supply. In a study conducted by U.S. Geological Survey, researchers detected low levels of various chemical compounds such as steroids, hormones, pharmaceutical and personal care products, insect repellent, and wastewater compounds in streams across the United States.
There are two main types of water pollution: point source and nonpoint source. Point source pollutants enter a waterway through a specific identifiable location such as a pipe or ditch. The most common examples of point source pollution are sewage treatment plants and industrial facilities. Nonpoint source pollutants are diffused from various
Safe Drinking Water
Bodies of water cover seventy-five percent of the world, yet water continues to be the quickest depleting natural resource on our planet. Drinking water can be drawn from surface fresh water or underground reservoirs. Yet only 1% of the water on the earth is available for human use, the rest remains too salty, polluted, or is locked away in polar ice caps. One half of the global population is currently faced with a crisis of water shortages. These shortages come from poor sanitization, overuse by the agricultural industry and consumers, and the exploding population growth in emerging markets. It is a growing issue of concern in the field of Environmental Public Health heightening the need to spread awareness of the importance of the global water supply and the strengthen the efforts being made to slow depletion, prevent contamination and advance investment in purification technologies.
The growing concern of water safety stems from the availability of clean water sources. Many substances that are in the soil can contaminate underground water sources. Industrial pollutants and pesticides are often filtered through the soil and can end up in our drinking water supplies. Another threat to the water supply is the risk of underground storage tanks of gas and oil that may could leak creating contamination to a our water supply. In a study conducted by U.S. Geological Survey, researchers detected low levels of various chemical compounds such as steroids, hormones, pharmaceutical and personal care products, insect repellent, and wastewater compounds in streams across the United States.
There are two main types of water pollution: point source and nonpoint source. Point source pollutants enter a waterway through a specific identifiable location such as a pipe or ditch. The most common examples of point source pollution are sewage treatment plants and industrial facilities. Nonpoint source pollutants are diffused from various