Not A Drop To Drink: Rescue Freshwater Sources

All life on earth requires water to survive. Up to 60% of the human body is water. Although water covers more than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, only 2.5 percent is fresh water. Unfortunately, less than one percent is directly accessible via rivers, streams, lakes, reservoirs, wetlands and shallow underground aquifers The remainder is frozen, in deep underground aquifers or in soil moisture.

The U.S. has more than 3.7 million miles of streams and rivers, and in excess of 60 million acres of lakes, ponds, and reservoirs. Snow and rain renew some freshwater sources.

The Great Lakes provide drinking water to approximately 30 million Americans. They are also the foundation for a multi-billion dollar economy.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in the past wetlands were threatened by outright loss and conversion. These losses are slowing due to programs designed to restore or enhance wetlands.

Habitats and systems that rely on freshwater are also impacted. The EPA and The Heinz Center report that “approximately 13 percent of native fresh water species are critically imperiled, 8 percent are imperiled, 11 percent are vulnerable, and 4 percent are or might be extinct.”

A new study published in the journal “Nature,” by University of Wisconsin-Madison's Peter McIntyre, limnologist and professor of zoology, and Charles Vörösmarty, CCNY modeler, combines information regarding the water security and biodiversity for all of the world’s rivers. According to the report, many of the rivers are severely degraded due to pollution, water diversion and introduced species.

Professor McIntyre said in a statement, “What made our jaws drop is that some of the highest threat levels in the world are in the United States and Europe. Americans tend to think water pollution problems are pretty well under control, but we still face enormous challenges.”

Beaches

The Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) reported that the number of advisories and beach closings hit their sixth-highest level in 2009 due to water quality. The report noted that the number of advisories and closings at Great Lakes, ocean and bay beaches topped 18,000 for the fifth consecutive year due to bacterial pollution. Illnesses resulting from pollution include hepatitis, meningitis, pinkeye, skin rashes, respiratory infections and gastrointestinal conditions.

In 2009, there were 162 beaches in 20 states that exceeded the national daily standard more than 25 percent of the time. Of those, 15 beach areas in California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin made the list every year between 2006 and 2009.

According to the NRDC, “Aging and poorly designed sewage treatment systems and contaminated stormwater are often to blame for beachwater pollution.” The high levels of bacteria indicate that animal and human waste may be among the contaminates in the beachwater.

Bacteria are not the only source of pollution plaguing beaches. According to the EPA, residue from past contamination resides in the sediments, industries in the region pollute the water, there are chemical spills, oil and gas leaks from vessels and oil spills.

The Deepwater Horizon well disaster resulted in tens of millions of gallons of oil gushing into Gulf waters. Oil washed up on beaches in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

Great Lakes

Oil spills occur in waterways around the world. According to the Chicago Tribune, in early October, the U.S. Coast Guard completed cleaning up a Lake Huron beach after an oil spill at Cheboygan State Park in Michigan. Discovered October 5, oil coated a 25-by-300-yard section of beach and a sheen coated nearby Duncan Bay. The cause remains under investigation.

According to the EPA’s Human Health and the Great Lakes website, the major Great Lakes health concerns include drinking water, fish consumption and recreational water quality. Other issues in the Great Lakes regions include air quality, contamination, pollution, wildlife, agriculture and industry.

Fish

The Human Health and the Great Lakes website noted that, “many chemical contaminants are present in surface waters at very low concentrations. Some of these chemicals can bioaccumulate in aquatic organisms via their diet and become concentrated at levels that are much higher than in the water itself.” Persistent chemicals such as toxaphene and PCBs are resistant to breaking down in the environment.

According to The Great Lakes Information Network, there are more than 1,400 fish consumption advisories in the United States. More than 1,000 of those advisories occur in the eight Great Lakes states.

People who consume a lot of Great Lakes fish, fish from highly-contaminated waters, or a large amount over a short period of time, according to the website, have the highest risk of experiencing adverse health effects. Those with weakened immune systems, including pregnant women, children, and the elderly also face high risks from contaminated fish. The Great Lakes Information Network recommends eating only one meal of fish a week or month or even abstaining altogether.

Other sources of contamination include invasive species, altered habitats and deposits from the atmosphere.

Lake Erie

According to The Great Lakes Information Network, Lake Erie was declared "dead" in the 1960s. It did have life but algae were the dominant plant species. Algae covered beaches with slimy moss. Native species were killed by algae, and it soaked up the available oxygen.

The Dr. Seuss book, "The Lorax," immortalized the situation: “In search of some water that isn't so smeary. I hear things are just as bad up in Lake Erie.”

Regulations eliminated toxic dumping. Since the 1970s, phosphorus levels in Lake Erie and Lake Ontario have decreased by nearly 80 percent.

Problems still remain in the region. President Barack Obama announced $475 million in new funding this year for his Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. According to the EPA, this is the largest investment in the Great Lakes in 20 years. Contaminated sediment, invasive species and non-point source pollution are the main threats addressed by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

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