Water Become a Health Concern?

By Christopher Goulding

Water is an essential element of life for human beings and other living things. However, in the past few years our beloved H20 has become a serious risk and a major health concern. Canada is very fortunate to have such a tremendous amount of fresh water. Local communities such as Georgetown, Acton, and Milton have impressive water records. The Regional Municipality of Halton introduced an unsafe drinking water response that was recently updated. Unfortunately for other areas, things don’t look so good. Ontario waters are becoming contaminated with many different chemicals and are therefore, placing health at serious risk.

When water enters the sewer system it is immediately treated in a Sewage Treatment Plant. However, these facilities are not always 100% effective. If you are receiving water from a river or a lake, chances are the water has been exposed to acid rain, pesticide and industrial waste. If you are receiving water from a private well or from a public water source, chances are the water has been exposed to hazardous household products or passed through old pipelines. Let’s not get down on ourselves just yet, as there is an up side to this. The water is somewhat cleansed from its exposure to sunlight as well as to the micro-organisms in the water. The down side is that the water from the private wells is not exposed to sunlight, and the micro-organisms in the water need oxygen to successfully perform their duty.

A large percentage of the contaminated water is from hazardous household products. These products enter our water as a direct result of careless disposal. The more we dispose of chemicals such as car oil or car fluids down sewers, or the disposal of cleaning products down the kitchen sink, the more we damage our water quality. The more we dispose of these chemicals without concern, the bigger the clean-up process. The cost of this cleaning process is extremely high. The more complacent we become, the higher the cost. The obvious solution would be to work together to prevent further contamination. Many believe it’s far easier said than done, but with the proper groundwater management it can be done. Efforts have already begun towards this goal, but have been hindered by a lack of groundwater expertise. However, with more awareness and respect towards the disposal of our household chemicals, we can easily regain our beautiful natural water. By making a conscious effort, this worry can easily become a memory.