Blog 4- Water Quality

People all over the United States take advantage of the resource of clean and drinkable water everyday. Citizens don't know how lucky they are to be able to use water freely everyday of their lives without worry. With this being said, people need to be educated on what can be passed through our water and that it is a finite resource.

Coliform 
According to this PDF put out by the Ohio Department of Health, Coliform bacteria is found in soil, plants, intestines of humans, and cold-blooded animals. This bacteria aides in digestion of the food in the intestines. The presence of the bacteria in the environment often doesn't cause illness. The presence of this bacteria in water indicates that there is disease carrying pathogens that are likely present.

 There are sixteen different types of Coliform. There is a subgroup called Fecal Coliform. Fecal Coliform is obviously found in the fecal waste of warm-blooded humans and animals. E. Coli is one of the rare forms of Fecal Coliform. E. Coli has been in the news in recent years from a customer eating at the popular restaurant chain, Chipotle and getting sick from this bacteria. According to the article by WebMD, E. Coli is most commonly transferred through meat when not cooked properly. It can also transferred by water in lakes, rivers, or streams.

Coliform in drinking water means that pathogens that carry diseases are very likely present. Testing for Coliform is easy but testing for all other possible pathogens is very hard.

A picture of how to test Coliform in water. 

Turbidity
Turbidity is the measure of cloudiness of water. Cloudiness can be caused by non-disease or disease causing organisms. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set the standard for turbidity to 1 NTU. Public water sources must not exceed .3 NTU on the monthly test.

An example of turbidity in water. 

Radon
Radon is a gaseous highly radioactive element. This page by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), explains radon in the environment. Radon can cause cancer. It is found in air and water. Water that is from a surface source like river, lake, and reservoir is usually free of Radon because it gets released into the air. Radon is usually a concern in water that is gotten from underground. There is currently no federal standard for Radon in water. The EPA has proposed that community water sources be kept below 4,000 pCi/L.

A diagram of how Radon can enter a house. 

Cryptosporidium
Cryptosporidium is a parasite that can live in the intestines of humans or animals. It is passed down by feces. Cryptosporidiosis is a diarheal disease caused by Cryptosporidium. The parasites can be found in every region in the United States and can be found mainly in private wells. To get rid of these parasites you can bring your water to a rolling boil, put in clean container, and refrigerate. There is no standard for this.

Giardia
Giardia is very similar to Cryptosporidium. It is a parasite that can live in the intensities of humans or animals. It is passed down by feces. It causes a diarheal disease. To get rid of these parasites you bring your water to rolling boil, put in clean container, and refrigerate. There is no standard for this.

Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Cyanotoxins
HAB's are caused by cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria is the often seen blue-green algae. This algae is found naturally in lakes, ponds, and slow moving streams. These HAB's put of toxins that can affect the nerves in the brain and the liver.