Works Cited

“Are You More Vulnerable TO Drinking Water Contaminants?” www.consumerfed.org. 1999. Consumer Federation Of America. 09 November 2010. .

“Crytosporidosis.” http://www.pollutionissues.com. Web. <http://www.pollutionissues.com/Co-Ea/Cryptosporidiosis.html>.

Drinking Water and Society. http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/. 2002. Water Encyclopedia. 16 November 2010. < http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Da-En/Drinking-Water-and-Society.html>

Filtration Backwash Recycling. http://www.epa.ohio.gov. 03 August 2009. Environmental Protection Agency. 9 November 2010. <http://www.blogger.com/%3Chttp://www.epa.ohio.gov/portals/28/documents/rules/Final/3745-81-79_effective_08-03-04.pdf%3E.

“Inside the Plating Shop’s Wastewater Treatment Plant.” http://today.slac.stanford.edu. Web. 17 October 2010. <http://today.slac.stanford.edu/images/2006/water-treatment-large.jpg>.

Method 1623: Cryptosporidium and Giardia in Water by Filtration/IMS/FA.http://www.epa.gov/. December 2005. United States Protection Agency. 11 November 2010. <http://www.epa.gov/nerlcwww/1623de05.pdf>.

“Our Bodies and Water.” http://www.sewhaa.com. Web. 11 Feburary 2009. <http://www.sewhaa.com/.a/6a00e553ec0d2988340111685b6d3d970c-800wi>

“Water-Borne Bioterrorism Threats.” http://jhyoung.myweb.uga.edu. Web. <http://jhyoung.myweb.uga.edu/Waterborne.html>.

Findings

When it comes down to the sources it is kind of impossible to find a biased paper about water. My project has been about cold hard facts not water is so great and wonderful. I first started out with educational sites but stopped because most of the education sites were run by a college class and was information posted by a student. Though their information seemed credible I used their work sited instead which lead me to EPA. EPA is the Environmental Protection Agency and water just happens to be part of the environment. I used the EPA site and government sites because I knew for sure they were credible. The most useful sites were government sites because they had more information on the water filtration process then the EPA site.

Goodbye dear readers...

During my quest on discovering if water is safe in America or not I did not really feel much. I am a very calm person that does not panic. I found my project easy and I liked it because it was straight facts. When it comes to projects dealing with researching feelings I really dislike those because it is very difficult to find a non-biased source if a source at all. If I had a chance to do my project over again I would have stayed with that topic. I think it was fate that I got that topic from a random word generator. I picked it from a random word generator because I felt if I chose myself I would pick something everyone would expect from me. I wanted to do something a bit out of the box but still familiar to everyone. I enjoyed working on this project and would rather do a blog anytime then a ten page research paper. My blog has not been about swaying peoples opinions. It was about finding out the truth. Which I am glad I did.

Words to help you with your cleaner water quest!

Looking back...

I am satisfied with my findings. At first I had no idea what water went through or what disease were water borne but now I know a little more. I found it surprising that information on the actual water process was hard to find. I had to dig deep on government sites to find out that information. I think that it should be a little easier to access for the public to know their water is safe. I found out that tap water is safe for most people unless you have a weak immune system. The water plant sterilizes all the diseases and parasites lurking in the water. Just one less thing I have to worry about in the world.

Paragraph 3#

How is water treated? First, it goes to coagulation, has turners that resemble a fan, where chemicals are added to make the filtration easy for the other steps. Then it is sent to flocculation where the water mixes. The chemicals in the water make particles stick together when mixed; the stuck together particles are called floc. After flocculation it goes to sedimentation where the velocity of the water decreases letting floating particles including floc sink to the bottom. This process forms what is called sludge at the bottom which is removed. Next is filtration, where it is sent through 36 inches of graded sand, this removes more unwanted particles, taste, and odor. One of the final steps is disinfection which is where pathogens are sterilized. Many chemicals are added to the water such as chlorine, ammonia, and ozone to remove parasites and maladies from the water. (Oregon Government Department of Human Services) Even though all these precautions are taken to make sure water is safe there is still a risk of getting sick if your immune system is weak. (consumerfed)

Paragraph 2#

The scariest things in the world are often the unseen and the unknown. Cryptosporidium just happens to be one of those unknown unseen fears. Sounds like a made up word, right? Cryptosporidium Parvum is water borne parasite; it usually lives in water contaminated with human or animal feces. Little is known, as you can only tell if you have it through your stool, about this parasite. The symptoms, which are quite horrifying, include the following: frequent watery diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and a low fever. Vibrio Cholera is also caught in the same ways as Cryptosporidium and has similar symptoms. 60% of people with Vibrio Cholera die from dehydration. These are two of the main foes the water plant faces. The next question is how do they deal with all these dirt, diseases, and parasites?

Paragraph 1#

Did you know 3 million people in this world annually die from water related diseases? (Water Encyclopedia) How about the fact that only 1% of water on earth is drinkable? Is America safe from these fatal pathogens? There are many rules and regulations surrounding water filtration as we cannot go 3 days without water (background information). Back in 1990 many of the population only went to outside resources like lakes and streams for their water; of course the world has changed since then but how much has it really changed? This document shall discuss the following: parasites, maladies,water filtration, and who is at risk?

The Bigger Picture

“Less than 1 percent of all water on Earth is available as groundwater and surface water suitable for human uses such as drinking and cooking. The remainder is either salt water (97 percent) or is locked up in ice (just over 2 percent).”

“More than 1 billion of the world's people lack access to safe water, and nearly 2 billion people lack safe sanitation. Over 3 million people annually die from avoidable water-related diseases.”

-Water Encyclopedia

Taking a step back from is America’s water safe let us take a look at a bigger picture. The earth is covered in water, right? Then why do some countries have problems finding clean water to drink? Well in reality that huge chunk of water on earth is salt water. Salt water is not drinkable; 97% of earth’s water is salt water. Only about 1 percent of water is available on earth that is usable for drinking and cooking. There will always be about the same amount of water on earth but that still does not make it drinkable. Water is not easily attainted in some parts of the world as it is here in America. In fact 1 billion people lack access to safe water and to think it is something often taken for granted.

Drinking Water and Society. http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/. 2002. Water Encyclopedia. 16 November 2010. < http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Da-En/Drinking-Water-and-Society.html>

A Blast From The Past

“In 1990, more than 1 billion people depended on rivers, streams, or other unsafe surface sources for drinking water. In many developing countries, even municipal piped well water is unsafe, because of inadequately maintained pipes, low pressure, intermittent delivery, lack of chlorination, and clandestine connections. For example, Vibrio cholerae was repeatedly isolated from unchlorinated municipal water systems in Peru that caused large epidemics of cholera. In Guayaquil, Ecuador, even central chlorination of the municipal water system was insufficient to maintain adequate free chlorine residuals at peripheral distribution sites, and drinking unboiled municipal water remained a primary source of cholera.”

-Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Back in 1990 more than 1 billion people only used natural outside resources for their water that was unsafe. Piped well water was also unsafe as the pipes were not kept clean or efficient; the pipes also did not help disinfect the water from waterborne diseases. In Peru many pipes had to be taken care of because of their lack of keeping the water clean. In Ecuador they added too much chlorine, a chemical used to clean water, and made the water harmful. Drinking unboiled untreated water was the main way of getting the disease called Vibrio Cholera.

www.cdc.gov/safewater/publications.../mintz_1995.pdf

What happens EXACTLY to my water?

This is a simplified version of what tap water goes through. The raw water first goes to coagulation where chemicals are added; then the water is sent to Flocculation where it get mixed to make particles in the water stick together; Flocculation removes the large particles in water. Then the water is sent to sedimentation, which is when gravel accumulates, where the heavy particles can now sink and be removed from the water. After that the water is sent to filtration where it filtrates through sand, coal, and other substances. The disinfection stage is where the water company removes unwanted pathogens that could harm you. The picture below is of the layers of the filtration step. The arrows pointing away from the diagram that are not finished water are waste that is ridden of.

http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/dwp/images/SWT/SchematicConvFilter.gif

http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/dwp/swt.shtml#coagulation

Reassurance At Last

“Samples, reference materials, and equipment known or suspected to have viable oocysts or cysts attached or contained must be sterilized prior to disposal. For further information on waste management, consult The Waste Management Manual for Laboratory Personnel and Less is Better: Laboratory Chemical Management for Waste Reduction, both available from the American Chemical Society's Department of Government Relations and Science Policy, 1155 16th Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036.”

-EPA

This is part of EPA code and rules. It basically means any oocysts or cysts, very disgusting disease carrying bacteria, that are found must be destroyed before being disposed. Oocyst and cysts can cause disease or harbor parasites so it is good to know that these things are not in our water. Which eliminates having Cryptosporidium or Vibrio cholera in our tap water; Occyst and cysts, found in feces, cause diseases and parasites to form. To find more information about waste management you can go to The Waste Management Manual. Also if any of their equipment has oocysts or cysts or is suspected of having it they must also make sure if defucts then dispose of it. Keeping it would be a threat to public safety.

Method 1623: Cryptosporidium and Giardia in Water by Filtration/IMS/FA. http://www.epa.gov/. December 2005. United States Protection Agency. 11 November 2010. <http://www.epa.gov/nerlcwww/1623de05.pdf>.

Fun Fact

Gross

This is a lovely picture of Vibrio cholera. A very fatal pathogen you may have heard about; Vibrio cholera can be caught through contaminated water. Contaminated with what? The water is contaminated with animal or human feces. It can be caught through drinking contaminated water or eating food that has been washed in contaminated water. 60% of people with this disease die from dehydration. Thankfully the last epidemic was in 1911 in the U.S.

http://jhyoung.myweb.uga.edu/vibrio_cholera_em.gif
http://jhyoung.myweb.uga.edu/Waterborne.html

Who Is Mostly At Risk?

“Even when tap water is safe for most healthy people to drink because a water utility is doing a good job of meeting or surpassing all standards set by the EPA, there are some groups of people such as those undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer, people with HIV/AIDS or other immune disorders, those who have undergone organ transplants, and some elderly and infants who are more vulnerable to microbial and some other contaminants in their drinking water.”

-Consumer Federation of America for The Campaign for Safe and Affordable Drinking Water

In other words even though tap water that has been properly filtered is save for the average healthy American it can be dangerous to individuals with a weak immune system. There is still a chance that the average healthy American person can be affected by microbial or other contaminants in the water but not as great as someone with a weak immune system. Most water plants are meeting or surpassing the standards of EPA. This helps serve my topic to see what would heighten ones chances of catching a disease or parasite.

“Are You More Vulnerable TO Drinking Water Contaminants?” www.consumerfed.org. 1999. Consumer Federation Of America. 09 November 2010. < www.consumerfed.org/pdfs/vulnpop.pdf>.

You Thought You Would Not See It Again....Think Again

What is this plant like thing? No, it is not mistletoe but a new foe mentioned in the first post. This is a less ugly picture of Cryptosporidium Parvum. This parasite can be caught through drinking the following: inadequately treated drinking water, public swimming pools, lakes, streams, and other bodies of untreated water. Cryptosporidium is not a pretty parasite in fact you can only tell if you have it through testing your stool for the parasite. There are no cures but it usually goes away over time; some people may not even show any symptoms of having Cryptosporidium. It is extremely hard to remove Crytosporidium from infected drinking water in the water plants best protection is making sure the water does not get contaminated in the first place.

http://www.pollutionissues.com/images/paz_01_img0058.jpg

http://www.pollutionissues.com/Co-Ea/Cryptosporidiosis.html

Sunny California The State With The Largest Population

This is a water plant in California. Ali Farvid and Oscar Zelaya are at work near two neutralization tanks. These tanks are used to add chemicals into the water which hardens the metals that may be floating in the water so it may be easier to remove; this is one of the first processes to cleaning wastewater. Farvid’s staff has won awards from several associations including: California Water Pollution Control Association, the Department of Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency. This relates to my topic because wastewater is a recyclable water that may have the potential of coming back through the tap after filtrated.

http://today.slac.stanford.edu/images/2006/water-treatment-large.jpg

A Quote from Enviormental Protection Agency

“By June 8, 2004, surface water systems which recycle spent filter backwash water, thickener supernatant, or a liquid from dewatering process shall return these flows through the existing conventional filtration treatment or direct filtration treatment, or through an alternative location that is approved by the director. Failure to comply with this paragraph is a treatment technique violation.”
-Environmental Protection Agency

To paraphrase this statement in June 8, 2004 it was made law that any water filtration systems that recycle spent filter backwash water should now put the flows through conventional filtration treatment or direct filtration treatment. The backwash water could also be put to another place as long as it is approved by a director. If you do not follow these rules then it is a treatment technique violation.

Filtration Backwash Recycling. http://www.epa.ohio.gov. 03 August 2009. Environmental Protection Agency. 9 November 2010. <http://www.blogger.com/%3Chttp://www.epa.ohio.gov/portals/28/documents/rules/Final/3745-81-79_effective_08-03-04.pdf%3E.>.

Water Wordle

http://www.nesc.wvu.edu/old_website/ndwc/ndwc_DWH_1.html

Other Useful Links

http://www.waterhistory.org/

The history of water and the machines associated with it can be found on this site. If you want to know where water comes and goes this would be a excellent site to check out. The pages have several facts but can be very lengthy. This information was collected from the Internation Water History Association.

http://www.nesc.wvu.edu/old_website/ndwc/ndwc_DWH_1.html

Tells the history of tap water and is a little lighter then the site above. It’s a paper written by a student from West Virginia University. The page also lists other reference books if you’re thirsting to know more information about the history of purifying water. The information on the site was collected from Kathy Jesperson.

http://www.google.com/#q=Water+history&hl=en&prmd=ivb&tbs=tl:1&tbo=u&ei=50XQTMOtAYGClAfL3fGiBg&sa=X&oi=timeline_result&ct=title&resnum=11&sqi=2&ved=0CEQQ5wIwCg&fp=2304850557947867

This is a timeline of water filtration; it dates from 1000AD all the way up to 2010. If you need to find a specific date this link is for you. Useful for finding specific information now instead of scrolling through tons of pages of mind melting information. This information was collected from google.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Water+filtration&x=0&y=0

Not satisfied with internet sources? Check out books about water filtration and water itself. Books tend to be a safer choice then internet sources. After all anyone can put something on the internet. This information was collected from Amazon and list several authors.

Why you should read my blog?

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Background info I already know...

Humans can't go without water for more then 3 days; I found this out from a survival show on the Discovery Channel. I know that a parasite has to feed on another living organism and that sometimes when the water we flush down the toilet goes to the water plant to be filtrated it can come back through your sink water after filtration. I know there are many steps to the water filtration process. I have also discovered as I said in the post below cryptosporidium parvum is a parasite that can be caught through water and, the first human case was in 1976. Crptosporidium before usually just affected cattle. The picture to the left shows what crptosporidium looks like. The syptoms of crptosporidium are quite horrific, for they include frequent watery diarrhea, nausea, vomiting abdonminal cramps, and a low fever. For an immunocompromiised person the symptoms are even worse.They include debilitating cholera-like diarrhea (up to 20 liters a day), severe abdominal cramps, malaise, fever, weight loss, and anorexia so, I sure hope todays water filtration is better than in 1976.

How did I think of this topic?

Well, I went to a online random word generator and kept refreshing it till I found an interesting word. The word parasite popped up which made me think of the show Monsters Inside Me from Animal Planet; Monsters Inside Me is basically a show about people telling their stories about when they had a parasite eating them. I then typed in types of parasites into google and clicked on the closest edu site. I scrolled down till I found the most interesting name for a parasite and, I found cryptosporidium parvum which reminded me of kryptonite. I researched cryptosporidium and found that it could be caught from drinking water and humans can't go without water for three days. It never said where or exactly how though which lead me to the question, "How protected are we really from diseases and parasites that could be lurking in our drinking water in America?"