I.Whatcontaminatesourdrinkingwater?

1. Pesticides
a.Fromfarms
b.backyards
c.golfcourses
2. Fracking(hydraulicfracturing)
a.chemicalsescapingintogroundwater
3. Sewage
a.RawSewageOverflow
b.SepticTanks
4. Pesticides
a.Fromfarms
b.backyards
c.golfcourses
5. Undergroundstoragetanks(UTSs)
a.Leakage

II.Wheredoesourdrinkingwatercomefrom?
1. GroundWater
a.originatesfromprecipitation
b.Aquifer:zoneofsaturationcontainingwaterinvolumesenoughtoyieldwatertoa
well
c.suppliesfor51%oftotalU.Spopulationand99%oftheruralpopulation
2. SurfaceWater
a.alsooriginatesfromprecipitationrefillingrivers,lakes,wetlands,etc.directly
b.pumpedfromthewaterbodiestotreatmentplantswhereitissafelysanitized
3. HydrologicSystem/Cycle
a.constantmovementofwaterfromoceantoairandlandandbacktotheocean
b.evaporationofwaterbodies,vaporrisesintoatmosphere,coolsintoliquiddroplets,
dropletscombineuntiltooheavyandfalldowntoearthasprecipitation.

III.Whatcleansourdrinkingwater?
1. WaterTreatmentPlants
a.consistsofdisinfectionwiththemeansofaluminumsulfate,polymersand/orchlorine
b.killsgerms,improvestastesandodor,helpssettlesolidsstillinthewater

c.ProcessIntake,ChemicalAddition,Coagulation&Flocculation,Sedimentation,
Filtration,Disinfection,Storage,Distribution.
2.PersonalWaterFilters
a.serveinhouseholdsasawaytotakeextracontaminantsoutofdrinkingwater

Drinkingwaterisakeycomponenttothesurvivalandhealthoftheworlds
population,soitisimportanttomakesurethatitcleanedandsafe.300million
Americans,themajorityoftheU.Spopulation,gettheirwaterwhichisfoundinpublic
watersystems.Butpeopledontrealizethatduetohumanactivities,ourdrinkingwater
isconstantlybeingcontaminated.Maybenottothedangerofourlives,butitsurecan
haveaneffectonourhealth.
Inordertounderstandbetterhowdrinkingwateriscontaminated,firsttakealook
atwhereitcomesfrom.Therearethreewaysthatweobtaindrinkingwater,thefirstis
groundwater.Groundwateroriginatesfromprecipitation,andisfoundundergroundin
spacesandcrackbetweensoil,sandandrock.Itisheldinsoilzonesofsaturation
containingwatercalledaquifers.Aquifersareanundergroundlayerofwater,madeup
ofgravel,sand,orfracturedrocklikelimestone.Watermovesthroughthesematerials
sincetheyarepermeable.Itisabletocontainwaterinvolumesenoughforawell
penetratedintoanaquifertoretrieve.Groundwatersuppliesfor51%ofthetotalU.S
populationand99%oftheruralpopulationandisaveryefficientmethod.
Contaminationtypicallyoccursfromthingssuchaspesticidesandsewage.
Pesticidesarecommonlyusedamongfarms.Pesticidescanrunofffromfarms,
backyards,andevengolfcoursesthatusethesechemicals.SincetheycanDDT(an
organochlorideknownforitsinsecticidalproperties)theycontaminatewater.With
sewage,theresultofcontaminationcomesfromrawsewageoverflowandseptictanks.
Itcarrieswithitmicrobialpathogensthatarecapableofspreadingandcauseof
disease.Frackingishydraulicfracturingwhichmeanssandandchemicalsareinjected
intothedeepdrilledholesintotheearth.Thistaskisnot100%safesincechemicalsare
abletoescapeintothegroundwater.SamegoesforUndergroundStorageTanks
(UTSs)asleakagecanoccurandescapeintogroundwater.
Foreveryproblem,therecanbeasolution.Inthiscase,itstalkingaboutwaystoclean
ourdrinkingwater.WaterTreatmentplantsaremostlikelyourmainsourceoncleaning
drinkingwater.Itconsistsofdisinfectionwiththemeansofaluminumsulfate,polymers
and/orchlorine.Thispartoftheeightstepprocesskillsgerms,improvestastesand
odor,andhelpssettlesolidsstillinthewater.Theeightstepprocessintake,chemical
addition(cleanseswater),coagulationandflocculation,sedimentation,filtration,
disinfection,storage,andfinallythedistributionofthewateritself.Thisprocesshas
manydetailsoneachstep,butfocusingjustonthecleansingstepshowsexactlyhow

ourdrinkingwateriscleaned.EvenaftertheWaterTreatmentprocess,therearestill
contaminantsthatmaketheirwayintoourwater,justlikewhatwasexplainedabove.A
solutionthatmanyhouseholdsintheUnitedStatesusetodaythatareveryeffectiveare
personalwaterfilters.Theycomeinallshapesandsizesandcanbecateredtothetype
ofcontaminantstheywanttotakeoutoftheirdrinkingwater.

Sources:

https://www.fcwa.org/story_of_water/html/clean.htm

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk14432401

http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/water_quality/quality1/1pollutionandeffectsonyour
water.htm

http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/watercontamination/watercontaminantspollutantsli
st.htm

http://www.deq.louisiana.gov/portal/PROGRAMS/DrinkingWaterProtectionProgram/Wh
eredoesdrinkingwatercomefrom.aspx

http://www.groundwater.org/getinformed/basics/groundwater.html

http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/wellbeing/howcleanyourdrinkingwater

http://extoxnet.orst.edu/faqs/safedrink/pest.htm