Works CitedKrantz, David and Kifferstein, Brad. WATER POLLUTION AND SOCIETY. University Of Michigan. <http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/waterpollution.htm> 

  INTRODUCTION

      Comprising over 70% of the Earth’s surface, water is undoubtedly the most precious natural resource that exists on our planet.  Without the seemingly invaluable compound comprised of hydrogen and oxygen, life on Earth would be non-existent: it is essential for everything on our planet to grow and prosper.  Although we as humans recognize this fact, we disregard it by polluting our rivers, lakes, and oceans. Subsequently, we are slowly but surely harming our planet to the point where organisms are dying at a very alarming rate.  In addition to innocent organisms dying off, our drinking water has become greatly affected as is our ability to use water for recreational purposes.  In order to combat water pollution, we must understand the problems and become part of the solution.

  

POINT AND NONPOINT SOURCES 

    According to the American College Dictionary, pollution is defined as:  to make foul or unclean; dirty.  Water pollution occurs when a body of water is adversely affected due to the addition of large amounts of materials to the water.  When it is unfit for its intended use, water is considered polluted.  Two types of water pollutants exist; point source and nonpoint source.  Point sources of pollution occur when harmful substances are emitted directly into a body of water.  The Exxon Valdez oil spill best illustrates a point source water pollution.  A nonpoint source delivers pollutants indirectly through environmental changes.  An example of this type of water pollution is when fertilizer from a field is carried into a stream by rain, in the form of run-off which in turn effects aquatic life.  The technology exists for point sources of pollution to be

monitored and regulated, although political factors may complicate matters. Nonpoint sources are much more difficult to control.  Pollution arising from nonpoint sources accounts for a majority of the contaminants in streams and lakes.

   

CAUSES OF POLLUTION  

     Many causes of pollution including sewage and fertilizers contain nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates.  In excess levels, nutrients over stimulate the growth of aquatic plants and algae.  Excessive growth of these types of organisms consequently clogs our waterways, use up dissolved oxygen as they decompose, and block light to deeper waters. This, in turn, proves very harmful to aquatic organisms as it affects the respiration ability or fish and other invertebrates that reside in water.      Pollution is also caused when silt and other suspended solids, such as soil, wash off plowed fields, construction and logging sites, urban areas, and eroded river banks when it rains.  Under natural conditions, lakes, rivers, and other water bodies undergo Eutrophication, an aging process that slowly fills in the water body with sediment and organic matter.  When these sediments enter various bodies of water, fish respiration becomes impaired, plant productivity and water depth become reduced, and aquatic organisms and their environments become suffocated.  Pollution in the form of organic material enters waterways in many different forms as sewage, as leaves and grass clippings, or as runoff from livestock feedlots and pastures.  When natural bacteria and protozoan in the water break down this organic material, they begin to use up the oxygen dissolved in the water.  Many types of fish and bottom-dwelling animals cannot survive when levels of dissolved oxygen drop below two to five parts per million.  When this occurs, it kills aquatic organisms in large numbers which leads to disruptions in the food chain.

Polluted River The pollution of rivers and streams with chemical contaminants has become one of the

most crucial environmental problems within the 20th century. Waterborne chemical pollution entering rivers and streams cause tremendous amounts of destruction.

   

     Pathogens are another type of pollution that prove very harmful.  They can cause many illnesses that range from typhoid and dysentery to minor respiratory and skin diseases.  Pathogens include such organisms as bacteria, viruses, and protozoan.  These pollutants enter waterways through untreated sewage, storm drains, septic

tanks, runoff from farms, and particularly boats that dump sewage.  Though microscopic, these pollutants have a tremendous effect evidenced by their ability to cause sickness.   Nonpoint source pollution is a fancy term for polluted runoff. Water washing over the land, whether from rain, car washing, or the watering of crops or lawns, picks up an array of contaminants including oil and sand from roadways, agricultural chemicals from farmland, and nutrients and toxic materials from urban and suburban areas. This runoff finds its way into our waterways, either directly or through storm drain collection systems. The term nonpoint is used to distinguish this type of pollution from point source pollution, which comes from specific sources such as sewage treatment plants or industrial facilities. Scientific evidence shows that although huge strides have been made in cleaning up major point sources, our precious water resources are still threatened by the effects of polluted runoff. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that this type of pollution is now the single largest cause of the deterioration of out nation’s water quality.

Effects of Runoff

The effects of polluted runoff are not limited to large lakes or coastal bays. In fact, chances are you don’t have to look any farther than your neighborhood stream or duck pond. Water pollution in your town, and perhaps in your own backyard, can result in anything from weed-choked ponds to fish kills to contaminated drinking water.

There’s not much chance that you can ignore this problem, even if you want to. Concern over polluted runoff has resulted in an ever-increasing number of state and federal laws enacted over the last five years. At the federal level, a permit program for storm water discharges from certain municipalities and businesses is now underway. In addition to implementing this federal program, many states have passed laws altering local land use (planning and zoning) processes and building codes to address the problem of polluted runoff. The bottom line is that both polluted runoff and its management are likely to affect you and your community in the near future.

Causes of Polluted Runoff

Polluted runoff is the cumulative result of our everyday personal actions and our local land use policies. Here’s a brief rundown on the causes and effects of the major types of pollutants carried by runoff.

Pathogens: Pathogens are disease-causing microorganisms, such as bacteria and viruses, that come from the fecal waste of humans and animals. Exposure to pathogens from direct contact or ingestion of water can cause a number of health problems. Because of this, bathing beaches are closed, and boil water alerts are issued when testing reveals significant pathogen levels. Pathogens wash off the land from wild animals, farm animals, and pet waste, and can also enter our waterways from improperly functioning septic tanks, leaky sewer lines, and boat sanitary disposal systems.

Nutrients: Nutrients are compounds that stimulate plant growth, like nitrogen and phosphorous. Under normal conditions, nutrients are beneficial and necessary, but in high concentrations, they can become an environmental threat. Nitrogen contamination of drinking water can cause health problems, including "blue baby" syndrome. Over

fertilization of ponds, streams, and lakes by nutrients can lead to massive algal blooms, the decay of which can create odors and rob the waters of life-sustaining dissolved oxygen. Nutrients in polluted runoff can come from agricultural fertilizers, septic systems, home lawn care products, and yard and animal wastes.

Sediment: Sand, dirt, and gravel eroded by runoff usually ends up in stream beds, ponds, or lakes where they can alter stream flow and decrease the availability of healthy aquatic habitat. Poorly protected construction sites, agricultural fields, roadways, and suburban gardens can be major sources of sediment.

Toxic Contaminants: Toxic contaminants are substances that can harm the health of aquatic life and/or human beings. Toxins are created by a wide variety of human practices and products, and include heavy metals, pesticides, and organic compounds like PCBs. Many toxins are very resistant to breakdown and tend to be passed through the food chain to be concentrated in top predators. Fish consumption health advisories are the result of concern over toxins. Oil, grease, and gasoline from roadways and chemicals used in homes, gardens, yards, and on farm crops, are major sources of toxic contaminants.

Debris: Trash is without a doubt the simplest type of pollution to understand. It interferes with enjoyment of our water resources and, in the case of plastic and polystyrene foam, can be a health threat to aquatic organisms. Typically this debris starts as street litter that is carried by runoff into our waterways.

ADDITIONAL FORMS OF WATER POLLUTION 

     Three last forms of water pollution exist in the forms of petroleum, radioactive substances, and heat.  Petroleum often pollutes water bodies in the form of oil, resulting from oil spills.  The previously mentioned Exxon Valdez is an example of this type of water pollution.  These large-scale accidental discharges of petroleum are an important cause of pollution along shore lines.  Besides the supertankers, off-shore drilling operations contribute a large share of pollution.  One estimate is that one ton of oil is spilled for every million tons of oil transported.  This is equal to about 0.0001 percent. Radioactive substances are produced in the form of waste from nuclear power plants, and from the industrial, medical, and scientific use of radioactive materials.  Specific forms of waste are uranium and thorium mining and refining.  The last form of water pollution is heat.  Heat is a pollutant because increased temperatures result in the deaths of many aquatic organisms.  These decreases in temperatures are caused when a discharge of cooling water by factories and power plants occurs. Effects of Oil SpillsWe have all seen pictures and videos of wildlife covered in black, sticky oil after an oil spill.  These pictures are usually of oiled birds.  Many people are not aware that it is not just birds that get oiled during a spill.  Other marine life such as marine mammals can also suffer from the effects of an oil spill.  Even small spills can severely affect marine wildlife.

Not all oils are the same.  There are many different types of oil and this means that each oil spill is different depending on the type of oil spilt.  Each oil spill will have a different impact on wildlife and the surrounding environment depending on:

the type of oil spilled,

the location of the spill,

the species of wildlife in the area,

the timing of breeding cycles and seasonal migrations,

and even the weather at sea during the oil spill.

Oil affects wildlife by coating their bodies with a thick layer.  Many oils also become stickier over time (this is called weathering) and so adheres to wildlife even more.  Since most oil floats o nthe surface of the water it can effect many marine animals and sea birds.  Unfortunately, birds and marine mammals will not necessarily avoid an oil spill.  Some marine mammals, such as seals and dolphins, have been seen swimming and feeding in or near an oil spill.  Some fish are attracted to oil because it looks like floating food.  This endangers sea birds, which are attracted to schools of fish and may dive through oil slicks to get to the fish.

Oil that sticks to fur or feathers, usually crude and bunker fuels, can cause many problems.  Some of these problems are:

hypothermia in birds by reducing or destroying the insulation and waterproofing properties of their feathers;

hypothermia in fur seal pups by reducing or destroying the insulation of their woolly fur (called lanugo).  Adult fur seals have blubber and would not suffer from hypothermia if oiled.  Dolphins and whales do not have fur, so oil will not easily stick to them;

birds become easy prey, as their feathers being matted by oil make them less able to fly away;

marine mammals such as fur seals become easy prey if oil sticks their flippers to their bodies, making it hard for them to escape predators;

birds sink or drown because oiled feathers weigh more and their sticky feathers cannot trap enough air between them to keep them buoyant;

fur seal pups drown if oil sticks their flippers to their bodiesk

birds lose body weight as their metabolism tries to combat low body temperature;

marine mammals lose body weight when they can not feed due to contamination of their environment by oil;

birds become dehydrated and can starve as they give up or reduce drinking, diving and swimming to look for food;

inflammation or infection in dugongs and difficulty eating due to oil sticking to the sensory hairs around their mouths;

disguise of scent that seal pups and mothers rely on to identify each other, leading to rejection, abandonment and starvation of seal pups; and

damage to the insides of animals and birds bodies, for example by causing ulcers or bleeding in their stomachs if they ingest the oil by accident.

Oil does not have to be sticky to endanger wildlife.  Both sticky oils such as crude oil and bunker fuels, and non-sticky oils such as refined petroleum products can affect different wildlife.  Oils such as refined petroleum products do not last as long in the marine environment as crude or bunker fuel.  They are not likely to stick to a bird or animal, but they are much more poisonous than crude oil or bunker fuel.  While some of the following effects on sea birds, marine mammals and turtles can be caused by crude oil or bunker fuel, they are more commonly caused by refined oil products.

Oil in the environment or oil that is ingested can cause:

poisoning of wildlife higher up the food chain if they eat large amounts of other organisms that have taken oil into their tissues;

interference with breeding by making the animal too ill to breed, interfering with breeding behaviour such as a bird sitting on their eggs, or by reducing the number of eggs a bird will lay;

damage to the airways and lungs of marine mammals and turtles, congestion, pneumonia, emphysema and even death by breathing in droplets of oil, or oil fumes or gas;

damage to a marine mammal's or turtle's eyes, which can cause ulcers, conjunctivitis and blindness, making it difficult for them to find food, and sometimes causing starvation;

irritation or ulceration of skin, mouth or nasal cavities;

damage to and suppression of a marine mammal's immune system, sometimes causing secondary bacterial or fungal infections;

damage to red blood cells;

organ damage and failure such as a bird or marine mammal's liver;

damage to a bird's adrenal tissue which interferes with a bird's ability to maintain blood pressure, and concentration of fluid in its body;

decrease in the thickness of egg shells;

stress;

damage to fish eggs, larvae and young fish;

contamination of beaches where turtles breed causing contamination of eggs, adult turtles or newly hatched turtles;

damage to estuaries, coral reefs, seagrass and mangrove habitats which are the breeding areas of many fish and crustaceans, interfering with their breeding;

tainting of fish, crustaceans, molluscs and algae;

interference with a baleen whale's feeding system by tar-like oil, as this type of whale feeds by skimming the surface and filtering out the water; and

poisoning of young through the mother, as a dolphin calf can absorb oil through it's mothers milk.

  Animals covered in oil at the beginning of a spill may be affected differently from animals encountering the oil later.  For example, early on, the oil maybe more poisonous, so the wildlife affected early will take in more of the poison.  The weather conditions can reduce or increase the potential for oil to cause damage to the environment and wildlife.  For example, warm seas and high winds will encourage lighter oils to form gases, and will reduce the amount of oil that stays in the water to affect marine life.

The impact of an oil spill on wildlife is also affected by where spilled oil reaches.  For example, fur seal pups are affected more than adults by oil spills because pups swim in tidal pools and along rocky coasts, whereas the adults swim in open water where it is less likely for oil to linger.  Dugongs als feed on seagrass along the coast and therefore be more affected by oil spills.

Demonstrators Protest Drilling

Oil pollution is a growing problem, particularly devestating to coastal wildlife.  Small quantities of oil spread rapidly across long distances to form deadly oil slicks. In this picture, demonstrators with "oil-covered" plastic animals protest a potential drilling

project in Key Largo, Florida. Whether or not accidental spills occur during the project, its impact on the delicate marine ecosystem of the coral reefs could be devastating.

 

Oil Spill Clean-upWorkers use special nets to clean up a California beach after an oil tanker spill. Tanker

spills are an increasing environmental problem because once oil has spilled, it is virtually impossible to completely remove or contain it. Even small amounts spread rapidly across large areas of water. Because oil and water do not mix, the oil floats on the water and then washes up on broad expanses of shoreline. Attempts to chemically treat or sink the oil may

further disrupt marine and beach ecosystems.  

 CLASSIFYING WATER POLLUTION  

    The major sources of water pollution can be classified as municipal, industrial, and agricultural.  Municipal water pollution consists of waste water from homes and commercial establishments.  For many years, the main goal of treating municipal wastewater was simply to reduce its content of suspended solids, oxygen-demanding materials, dissolved inorganic compounds, and harmful bacteria.  In recent years, however, more stress has been placed on improving means of disposal of the solid residues from the municipal treatment processes.  The basic methods of treating municipal wastewater fall into three stages: primary treatment, including grit removal, screening, grinding, and sedimentation; secondary treatment, which entails oxidation of dissolved organic matter by means of using biologically active sludge, which is then filtered off; and tertiary treatment, in which advanced biological methods of nitrogen removal and chemical and physical methods such as granular filtration and activated carbon absorption are employed.  The handling and disposal of solid residues can account for 25 to 50 percent of the capital and operational costs of a treatment plant.  The characteristics of industrial waste waters can differ considerably both within and among industries.  The impact of industrial discharges depends not only on their

collective characteristics, such as biochemical oxygen demand and the amount of suspended solids, but also on their content of specific inorganic and organic substances. Three options are available in controlling industrial wastewater.  Control can take place at the point of generation in the plant; wastewater can be pretreated for discharge to municipal treatment sources; or wastewater can be treated completely at the plant and either reused or discharged directly into receiving waters.

Wastewater TreatmentRaw sewage includes waste from sinks, toilets, and industrial processes. Treatment of the sewage is required before it can be safely buried, used, or released back into local water systems. In a treatment plant, the waste is passed through a series of screens, chambers,

and chemical processes to reduce its bulk and toxicity. The three general phases of treatment are primary, secondary, and tertiary. During primary treatment, a large

percentage of the suspended solids and inorganic material is removed from the sewage. The focus of secondary treatment is reducing organic material by accelerating natural

biological processes. Tertiary treatment is necessary when the water will be reused; 99 percent of solids are removed and various chemical processes are used to ensure the water

is as free from impurity as possible.   

 Agriculture, including commercial livestock and poultry farming, is the source of many organic and inorganic pollutants in surface waters and groundwater.  These contaminants include both sediment from erosion cropland and compounds of phosphorus and nitrogen that partly originate in animal wastes and commercial fertilizers.  Animal wastes are high in oxygen demanding material, nitrogen and phosphorus, and they often harbor pathogenic organisms.  Wastes from commercial feeders are contained and disposed of on land; their main threat to natural waters, therefore, is from runoff and leaching.  Control may involve settling basins for liquids,

limited biological treatment in aerobic or anaerobic lagoons, and a variety of other methods.  

 GROUND WATER

      Ninety-five percent of all fresh water on earth is ground water.  Ground water is found in natural rock formations.  These formations, called aquifers, are a vital natural resource with many uses.  Nationally, 53% of the population relies on ground water as a source of drinking water.  In rural areas this figure is even higher.  Eighty one percent of community water is dependent on ground water.  Although the 1992 Section 305(b) State Water Quality Reports indicate that, overall, the Nation’s ground water quality is good to excellent, many local areas have experienced significant ground water contamination. Some examples are leaking underground storage tanks and municipal landfills.  

 LEGISLATION

      Several forms of legislation have been passed in recent decades to try to control water pollution.  In 1970, the Clean Water Act provided 50 billion dollars to cities and states to build wastewater facilities.  This has helped control surface water pollution from industrial and municipal sources throughout the United States.  When congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972, states were given primary authority to set their own standards for their water.  In addition to these standards, the act required that all state beneficial uses and their criteria must comply with the fishable and swimmable goals of the act.  This essentially means that state beneficial uses must be able to support aquatic life and recreational use.  Because it is impossible to test water for every type of disease-causing organism, states usually look to identify indicator bacteria.  One for a example is a bacteria known as fecal coliforms.(Figure 1 shows the quality of water for each every state in the United States, click on the US link). These indicator bacteria suggest that a certain selection of water may be contaminated with untreated sewage and that other, more dangerous, organisms are present.  These legislations are an important part in the fight against water pollution.  They are useful in preventing Environmental catastrophes.  The graph shows

reported pollution incidents since 1989-1994.  If stronger legislations existed, perhaps these events would never have occurred.

  

 GLOBAL WATER POLLUTION

      Estimates suggest that nearly 1.5 billion people lack safe drinking water and that at least 5 million deaths per year can be attributed to waterborne diseases. With over 70 percent of the planet covered by oceans, people have long acted as if these very bodies of water could serve as a limitless dumping ground for wastes. Raw sewage, garbage, and oil spills have begun to overwhelm the diluting capabilities of the oceans, and most coastal waters are now polluted. Beaches around the world are closed regularly, often because of high amounts of bacteria from sewage disposal, and marine wildlife is beginning to suffer.

     Perhaps the biggest reason for developing a worldwide effort to monitor and restrict global pollution is the fact that most forms of pollution do not respect national boundaries. The first major international conference on environmental issues was held in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972 and was sponsored by the United Nations (UN). This meeting, at which the United States took a leading role, was controversial because many developing countries were fearful that a focus on environmental protection was a means for the developed world to keep the undeveloped world in an economically subservient

position. The most important outcome of the conference was the creation of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP).   UNEP was designed to be the environmental conscience of the United Nations, and, in an attempt to allay fears of the developing world, it became the first UN agency to be headquartered in a developing country, with offices in Nairobi, Kenya. In addition to attempting to achieve scientific consensus about major environmental issues, a major focus for UNEP has been the study of ways to encourage sustainable development increasing standards of living without destroying the environment. At the time

of UNEP's creation in 1972, only 11 countries had environmental agencies. Ten years later that number had grown to 106, of which 70 were in developing countries.

   

   

WATER QUALITY    Water quality is closely linked to

water use and to the state of economic development.  In

industrialized countries, bacterial

contamination of surface water caused serious health problems in major cities throughout the mid 1800�s.  By the turn of the century, cities in Europe and North America began

building sewer networks to route domestic wastes downstream of water intakes.  Development of these sewage networks and waste treatment facilities in urban areas has expanded tremendously in the past two decades.  However, the rapid growth of the urban population (especially in Latin America and Asia) has outpaced the ability of governments

to expand sewage and water infrastructure.  While waterborne diseases have been eliminated in the developed world, outbreaks of cholera and other similar diseases still occur with alarming frequency in the developing countries.  Since World War II and the

birth of the chemical age, water quality has been heavily impacted worldwide by industrial and agricultural chemicals. Eutrophication of surface waters from human and agricultural

wastes and nitrification of groundwater from agricultural practices has greatly affected large parts of the world. Acidification of surface waters by air pollution is a recent

phenomenon and threatens aquatic life in many area of the world.  In developed countries, these general types of pollution have occurred sequentially with the result that most developed countries have successfully dealt with major surface water pollution.  In

contrast, however, newly industrialized countries such as China, India, Thailand, Brazil, and Mexico are now facing all these issues simultaneously.

  

CONCLUSION 

        Clearly, the problems associated with water pollution have the capabilities to disrupt life on our planet to a great extent. Congress has passed laws to try to combat water pollution thus acknowledging the fact that water pollution is, indeed, a seriousissue. But the government alone cannot solve the entire problem.  It is ultimately up to us, to be informed, responsible and involved when it comes to the problems we face with our water.  We must become familiar with our local water resources and learn about ways for disposing harmful household wastes so they don’t end up in sewage treatment plants that can’t handle them or landfills not designed to receive hazardous materials.  In our yards, we must determine whether additional nutrients are needed before fertilizers are applied, and look for alternatives where fertilizers might run off into surface waters. We have to preserve existing trees and plant new trees and shrubs to help prevent soil erosion and promote infiltration of water into the soil.  Around our houses, we must keep litter, pet waste, leaves, and grass clippings out of gutters and storm drains.  These are just a few of the many ways in which we, as humans, have the ability to combat water pollution.  As we head into the 21st century, awareness and education will most assuredly continue to be the two most important ways to prevent water pollution.  If these measures are not taken and water pollution continues, life on earth will suffer severely.      Global environmental collapse is not inevitable. But the developed world must work with the developing world to ensure that new industrialized economies do not add to the world's environmental problems. Politicians must think of sustainable development rather than economic expansion. Conservation strategies have to become more widely accepted, and people must learn that energy use can be dramatically diminished without sacrificing comfort.  In short, with the technology that currently exists, the years of global environmental mistreatment can begin to be reversed.

  Important Terms

 Aquifers - natural rock formations, which contain ground water.

Eutrophication - The process of slowly filling in a water body with sediments and organic matter.

Non point source - delivers pollutants indirectly through environmental changes. One way in, which this occurs, is through run-off.

Pathogens - or disease producing organism.Point source - occurs when harmful substances are emitted directly into a body of  water. 

One way in which this occurs, is when someone throws a coke can into a body of water. Pollution - to make foul or unclean; dirty.

Sediments - minerals or organic matter deposited by water, air, or ice...matter which settles to the bottom a liquid.

Water: The World Is Facing a Dire Shortage of This Essential Element

by Mark Sircus Ac., OMD, citizen journalisthttp://www.naturalnews.com/z023267_water_china_medicine.html

(NaturalNews) When it comes to our water supplies we are trusting the wrong people and that trust will hurt us in ways we will regret. The waters, the rivers of life are precious to those who value life.(1) To certain others, they are just things to throw trash into, to pollute, and to make money off of at the expense of destroying the environment. Life is just unthinkable without water, for we cannot be separated from water and live. Water is so important that its pollution and poisoning has a direct impact on our health and even on the quality and effect of our minds and feelings.

We are the element water and we have reservoirs, ponds, rivers and seas of fluids within us. The flow of blood, the lymphatic system with its fluid movement, endocrine fluidity, urinary fluidity, the fluidity represented by perspiration, saliva, tears, sexual secretions,

and lactation are all influenced by water. Clean water is absolutely essential for healthy living. An Adequate supply of fresh and clean drinking water is a basic need for all human beings on the earth, yet hundreds of millions of people worldwide are deprived of this. When you add the fact that most drinking water from public systems are laced with toxic chemicals then we begin to see that its not hundreds of millions who have a problem with water but billions. Even bottled water has its problems.(2) We thus need to take so much care when it comes to the water we drink.

'If the world's water was contained in 100 liters or 26 gallons, then what is readily available to us would amount to one-half teaspoon.' - Dr. Sang Hwang

If there were no water there would be no world as we know it so pollution of our water or the deliberate injection of hazardous chemicals like fluoride and chloramines into it is nothing less than devastating to our biological existence over time. When approaching a topic as big and as important as water we have to have some sense of reverence for there is something sacred, almost sacramental in the very fabric of water. Thus water holds the potential to change our world, to change us. It holds the power of life and death and the most dominant influence over our health. In the Midwest today there is a serious drought that drives farmers and everyone else to think about water more than anything else. Next to our breath there is nothing more important than water.

The connection between water and disease wasn't established until a scant 100 years ago and the connection between water and human consciousness has still to be discovered. Observant physicians noted early on that not all diseases were transmitted through contact between individuals. The two greatest epidemics of the 19th century -- yellow fever and Asiatic cholera showed evidence that some factor other than direct contact with disease victims was necessary to spread the disease. Typhus and waterborne typhoid fever raged through urban areas, proving to be one of history's most virulent killers. Cholera could wipe out its victims in as little as 12 hours. Cholera is a disease that can take a man suddenly down in good health at daybreak and kill him by nightfall. Water is well capable of being the harbinger of death and disease so it is best to know and understand the water we drink and bathe in. In developing countries, four-fifths of all the illnesses are caused by waterborne diseases, with diarrhea being the leading cause of childhood death.

Medically we are still in the Stone Age when it comes to our understanding of water. Public health officials seem to deliberately choose to remain blind to ever present dangers of all the chemicals finding their way into the public water supplies probably because they are deeply associated with an industry and a medical paradigm that uses toxic chemicals in the form of drugs that are, as we shall see below, also polluting our waters. Water pollution is caused by human activities: 1) By point sources i.e., factories, sewage treatment plants,

underground mines, oil wells, oil tankers and pesticides from agriculture. 2) Non-point sources include mercury in the air, acid deposition from the air, traffic, pollutants that are spread through rivers. 3) Chemicals deliberately put in the water like fluoride and chloramines.

Water reminds us of the need to live simply and close to the ground but the lesson has been lost on modern man who has not really comprehended his total dependence and vulnerability to water issues. The CIA considers global water scarcity "a significant issue in security," said John Gannon, a former CIA assistant director and former chairman of the National Intelligence Council. Even as we continue to take water for granted, things are getting critical as water levels in many aquifers around the world are dropping, in some places by several meters a year.(3) In recent measurements, in Waukesha near Chicago for instance, the water level had dropped about 600 feet with the greatest loss being over the last 20 years. Professor Liu Yonggong, of China Agricultural University in Beijing, indicated that the water table beneath much of the North China Plain, a region that produces some 40 percent of China's grain, has fallen an average of 1.5 meters per year over the last five years.

Lack of water means lack of food.

"Future competition for water seems likely to take place largely in world grain markets." - Lester R. Brown, President of the Earth Policy Institute

An unexpectedly abrupt decline in the supply of water for China's farmers poses a rising threat to world food security. China depends on irrigated land to produce 70 percent of the grain for its huge population of 1.2 billion people, but it is drawing more and more of that water to supply the needs of its fast-growing cities and industries. As rivers run dry (4) and aquifers are depleted, the emerging water shortages could sharply raise the country's demand for grain imports, pushing the world's total import needs beyond exportable supplies. Since 1950, the population of China has grown by nearly 700 million, a staggering increase. Since 1950, the global renewable freshwater supply per person has fallen 58 percent as world population has swelled from 2.5 billion to 6 billion. With finite and diminishing water supplies the human race is like a fast moving car about to collide with a solid wall of water scarcity, which is not being helped at all by the global warming effect and the weather changes it is bringing throughout much of the world.

The Yellow River water in China is now loaded with heavy metals and other toxins that make it unfit even for irrigation, much less for human consumption, along much of its route.

None of the proposed solutions to the water crisis -- importing water, water conservation, expanded use of desalination of seawater or developing genetically modified crops that use less water -- will be "sufficient to substantially change the outlook for water shortages in 2015," according to Global Trends 2015, a report by the intelligence council. Agriculture accounts for two-thirds of water use worldwide and 80 percent to 90 percent in many developing countries. Some of this is already coming home to Californians who, as of New Year's Day 2002, have had three of their eight water pumps on the Colorado River shut down by federal order. Now, much less water is churning down the 242-mile aqueduct toward coastal Southern California, where 17 million people rely on snow-melt from the Rocky Mountains for washing dishes, flushing toilets and watering lawns. This is a pivotal moment in the contentious history of water in the arid West and in many other places around the world. We are just at the beginning of a problem that has no way of going away.

'The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives.' - American Indian Proverb

References:

1. Oceans contain 97 per cent of our planet's water but it is too salty for drinking, irrigation or industrial use. Only 3 per cent of earth's total water is considered fresh water. About 2.997 per cent of this fresh water is trapped in polar ice caps and deep within earth's surface which is too costly to extract. Thus only .003 per cent of earth's total available water by volume is available for human use. The global picture of water is not pretty with some 1.1 billion people still lacking access to improved drinking water sources and some 2.4 billion to adequate sanitation.

2. In March of 1999, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) released a report called "Bottled Water, Pure Drink or Pure Hype?" NRDC's report points out that as much as 40% of all bottled water comes from a city water system, just like tap water. Federal regulations that govern bottled water only require it to be as good as tap water, not better. There are no assurances, regulations or requirements that bottled water be any higher in quality than tap water.

3. Iran. The water table is falling by 2.8 meters annually in the agriculturally rich Chenaran Plain in northeastern Iran. That, coupled with the cumulative effect of a three-year drought, has driven people out of the region, generating a swelling flow of water refugees.

4. Egypt. Egypt is entirely dependent for its water on the Nile River, which is now reduced to a trickle as it enters the Mediterranean. Neither Egypt, Ethiopia, nor Sudan can increase its take from the Nile except at the expense of the other two countries. Populations in these three countries is projected to climb to 264 million in 2025 from 167 million today. A

quarter-century ago, with more and more of its water being pumped out for the country's multiplying needs, the Yellow River began to falter. In 1972, the water level fell so low that for the first time in China's long history it dried up before reaching the sea. It failed on 15 days that year, and intermittently over the next decade or so. Since 1985, it has run dry each year, with the dry period becoming progressively longer. In 1996, it was dry for 133 days. In 1997, a year exacerbated by drought, it failed to reach the sea for 226 days. For long stretches, it did not even reach Shandong Province, the last province it flows through en route to the sea. Shandong, the source of one-fifth of China's corn and one-seventh of its wheat, depends on the Yellow River for half of its irrigation water.