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Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007.

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Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007
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Page 1: Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007.

Why we should be worried about our water

Lily ClarkENVR 230November 6, 2007

Page 2: Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007.

Drinking Water in the U.S.: OverviewOverall, water quality has improved over the last

15 years, according to a report done by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

Quality of tap water varies greatly from city to cityMost cities have good or mediocre water quality

NRDC estimates that 50 million Americans drink water that is below the standards for water quality set by the EPA (1996)

CDC estimates that half of the country’s water treatment systems fail to remove the parasite that killed 100 people in Milwaukee in 1993 (1996)

Contaminants enter water in many ways, such as through runoff from sewage systems, runoff from roads and farms, and dumping of industrial waste

Page 3: Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007.

RegulationEPA has National Primary Drinking Water Regulations

(NPDWRs) to enforce standards for public water systems

Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1972 and Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) of 1974 passed “to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the nation’s waters”Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996

introduced new prevention approaches, changes in regulation, increased funding to state and local governments and improved consumer information

CDC performs and funds research and helps disseminate information regarding safe drinking water

Page 4: Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007.

Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs)Microorganisms

CryptosporidiumGiardiaLegionellaColiforms (including E. coli)TurbidityEnteric viruses

Disinfectants – chlorine and chloraminesDisinfection by-products – chlorite, haloacetic acids,

trihalomethanesInorganic chemicals – arsenic, cyanide, fluoride, lead,

mercuryOrganic chemicals – atrazine, carbon tetrachloride, TCDD,

PCBsRadionuclides

Page 5: Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007.

Problems with RegulationReport by the General Accounting Office in 1993

found that “most state inspection programs to ensure the safety of public water supplies are a shambles”State public health departments responsible for

monitoring and reporting to the EPA on water qualityHowever, many state inspection programs are under

funded and are thus unable to test the water every three years, as recommended by the EPA

Deficiencies often went unidentified and uncorrected due to bad record-keeping

Less than half of the inspectors nationwide had been formally trained

Lapse in regulation seen in DC lead contamination and the disease outbreak in Milwaukee

Page 6: Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007.

Health EffectsLead

Permanent brain damage and decreased intellectual ability in infants and children

Trihalomethanes and haloacetic acidsCancer and reproductive problems, including

miscarriageAll possible health effects especially dangerous

for those with a compromised immune systemPregnant women, infants, children, elderly,

HIV/AIDS patients, chemotherapy and cancer patients

Page 7: Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007.

Health Effects of Waterborne PathogensEspecially dangerous for the immuno-compromised

(HIV/AIDS, the elderly, children, chemo patients)Cause diarrhea and acute gastrointestinal illness

(AGI)Currently estimated 4.26 – 11.69 million cases of

AGI annuallyDue to drinking water from community drinking

water systems supplied by surface and groundwater sources

However, most of the microbes that have caused outbreaks of waterborne diarrheal illnesses in the U.S. and their sources are unidentified

Page 8: Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007.

Threats to Water QualityReliance on pipes that are 100 years old, on

averageProblems with breakageLeach contaminants and allow bacteria to breed

Reliance on outdated water treatment techniques

Regulatory efforts by the Bush administrationWeaken regulation on source watersStall the creation of new standards for

contaminantsCut funding and environmental programs

Page 9: Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007.

How the Bush Administration’s Policies Threaten Our Drinking WaterBush administration policies in 2003 supported reducing

the protection of our water sources and our drinking water

Specifically, proposed scalebacks would have removed protection for headwaters, wetlands, seasonal streams and other water sourcesPolicy would exempt protections on “isolated” watersThese exemptions would have affected directly the drinking

water sources for 15 U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Baltimore, D.C. and Seattle

Policy rejected in 2006In 2006, the Bush administration declared that federal

workers would not be protected under whistleblower protection for reporting “water enforcement breakdowns, manipulations of science, or cleanup failures”Threatens the integrity of the CWA and SDWA by removing

protection from federal employees who attempt to uncover and report honestly the state of our water quality

Page 10: Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007.

What’s On Tap: Grading Drinking Water in U.S. CitiesThe Natural Resources Defense Council

issued a 2003 report on the quality of drinking water in 19 states

Page 11: Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007.
Page 12: Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007.
Page 13: Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007.

Process of Water TreatmentCoagulation – addition of aluminum sulfate to make large

particles of solids stick togetherPerchlorination (optional) – addition of chlorine or other

oxidant to start disinfection and oxidation of chemicals If added at this early stage, can greatly increase levels of by-

productsSedimentation – water mixed and left to sit to allow

coagulant to take effectFiltration – run water through filters of sand or coal to

remove smaller particles (unable to remove arsenic, pesticides and other chemicals)

Primary chemical disinfection – usually chlorine gas or liquid

Corrosion inhibitor – lime or zinc orthophosphate to inhibit ability of water to corrode city and household piping

Fluoride and secondary disinfection – second dose of infectant to prevent recontamination

Page 14: Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007.

Waterborne PathogensVegetative bacteria and other microorganisms are

killed by disinfection process of water treatmentCryptosporidium and Giardia are relatively resistant to

disinfection processMany waterborne parasites are resistant to

chlorinationFiltration removes these parasites, however many

treatment facilities have broken and failing filtration systems

Acute gastroenteritis illness (AGI) is most common health problem associated with consumption of water contaminated with microbesAssociations between water turbidity and AGI have

been found in citywide studies performed in Milwaukee and Philadelphia

AGI rates in the US can be used to estimate the risk of infectious, waterborne diseases

Page 15: Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007.

Waterborne Disease Outbreaks (WBDOs)Outbreak statistics do not accurately reflect the incidences

of waterborne illness due to endemic contaminationThere is no surveillance system to report the incidences of

endemic waterborne illness, specifically AGI, in the USReported occurrences of WBDOs are only a fraction of the

actual occurrences of AGI because endemic illnesses are not included

WBDO statistics have been recorded since the 1920s through local, state and national public health departments

Useful to identify risks of disease associated with source waters, public water systems and treatments

Also provide information about the important waterborne pathogens and adequacy of contamination regulations

Page 16: Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007.

Disease OutbreaksWaterborne pathogens are increasing as a cause of

waterborne disease outbreaks in the U.S.Between 1991 and 2002

403,000 people got sick4,400 were hospitalized50 died

Mortality associated with WBDOs decreased from 1920 to 1990 but has risen in the last 12 years

The percentage of WBDOs associated with contaminants in the public water systems have increased since 1991

Outbreak tracking does not take into account rates of endemic waterborne diseases, which can be caused by the same pathogens

Page 17: Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007.
Page 18: Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007.

Taken from Craun et al. “Waterborne outbreaks reported in the United States.” Journal of Water and Health. 2006.

Page 19: Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007.

Etiology of waterborne outbreaks reported in the U.S., 1991 – 2002Etiological agent Outbreaks Cases

AGI 77 16,036

Chemical 33 577

Giardia 25 2,283

Cryptosporidium 15 408,371

Norovirus 12 3,361

E. coli O157:H7 11 288

Shigella 9 663

Campylobacter jejuni 7 360

Legionella 6 80

Salmonella 3 833

V. cholerae 2 114

Hepatitis A 2 56

Naegleria fowleri 1 2

Plesiomonas shigelloides 1 60

Campylobacter and Yersinia 1 12

E. coli O157:H7 & Campylobacter

1 781

Unidentified SRSV 1 70

Total 207 433,947Taken from M. F. Craun et al. “Waterborne outbreaks reported in the United States.” Journal of Water and Health. 04.Suppl 2. 2006.

Page 20: Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007.

Milwaukee, 1993400,000 people got sick and 100 died from

contaminated waterCryptosporidium was the parasite found in

the waterCaused death mostly in immuno-

compromised populations, specifically those with HIV/AIDS

Page 21: Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007.

New York, 19991,000 people got sick at a county fair in

upstate New YorkThe water was contaminated with a virulent

strain of E. coliResulted in the death of one elderly man and

one 3-year old girl

Page 22: Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007.

New York, 2005Nearly 750 people got sick from a

contaminated play area in a water park The water was found to be contaminated with

cryptosporidiumThe tank from which the water park drew its

water had a chlorination and a filtration system

Page 23: Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007.

U.S. Public Interest Research Group 2005 Report on CWA Compliance3600, or 57%, of the nation’s water treatment

facilities exceeded limits set by the CWA at least once in 2005Noncompliant facilities reported 24,400 cases of

exceeding CWA permitsIndicates that facilities are exceeding their permits

more than once, and for more than one pollutant628 facilities exceeded their permit limits for at

least half of the monthly reporting periods in 2005On average, noncompliant facilities exceeded

permit limits by four times the allowed amountOn 1800 occasions, facilities reported exceeding

the limits by at least six-fold

Page 24: Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007.

Recommended Actions by the Natural Resources Defense CouncilInvestment in upgrading water systems

Pipe breaksAllow in bacteria and contaminantsEstimated $500 billion over the next two decades to

ensure the safety of drinking water nationwideUpgrading of water treatment techniques

Currently use same basic water treatment technologies from before WWI

New technologies available – ozone, UV light treatment, membrane treatment, granulated activated carbon

Use a combination of two or more to maximize efficiency and minimize by-products of treatment

Strengthen and enforce existing health standards and create new standards for unregulated contaminants

Page 25: Why we should be worried about our water Lily Clark ENVR 230 November 6, 2007.

Sources EPA

Office of Water: http://www.epa.gov/OW/ Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory:

http://www.epa.gov/nheerl/articles/2006/waterborne_disease.html “Clinton Administration works to help protect the public health from recent infectious disease outbreaks.”:

http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/a21708abb48b5a9785257359003f0231/52a4c3f2c4d50b31852567ee00661941!OpenDocument

CDC Healthy Drinking Water: http://www.cdc.gov/Ncidod/dpd/healthywater/index.htm “Surveillance for Waterborne-Disease Outbreaks --- United States, 1999-2000”:

http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5108a1.htm Natural Resources Defense Council

“Study Finds Safety of Drinking Water in U.S. Cities at Risk”: http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/uscities.asp

“What’s on Tap? Grading Drinking Water in U.S. Cities”: http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/uscities/contents.asp

“Limiting Clean Water Act Protection Could Contaminate Drinking Water”: http://www.nrdc.org/media/pressReleases/030611a.asp

“Clean Water at Risk”: http://www.nrdc.org/water/pollution/cwa30/contents.asp CNN

“Milwaukee learned its water lesson, but many other cities haven’t”: http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9609/02/nfm/water.quality/

“1,800 infected; water park blamed”: http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/08/19/water.illness/index.html New York Times

“Outbreak of Disease in Milwaukee Undercuts Confidence in Water”: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE6D9143EF933A15757C0A965958260

“Nearly 750 Are Sickened at State Park”: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/19/nyregion/19sick.html New York Department of Health

http://www.health.state.ny.us/press/releases/2000/ecoli.htm US PIRG

“Troubled Waters: An analysis of 2005 Clean Water Act compliance”: http://static.uspirg.org/reports.asp?id2=35946

Stormwater Authority: http://www.stormwaterauthority.org/library/view_article.aspx?id=633 Earthjustice:

http://www.earthjustice.org/our_work/policy/2004/bush_administration_launches_effort_to_dismantle_clean_water_act.html


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