Introduction
The current water crisis in Flint, Michigan, has focused a lot of attention on the state of water infrastructure. The Flint water crisis began in 2014 after the city’s water was contaminated with lead and Legionella bacteria (Langin, 2018). Agriculture and industry are familiar sources of drinking water contaminants in the United States of America. Petroleum products, organic solvents, and heavy metals can migrate from the sites of disposal or storage into the aquifers. Basic sanitation, plumbing, and water quality have been growing issues in the United States of America for more than 20 years. In 2018 states such as the Rio Grande recorded a meager amount of water while permanent drought conditions existed in Arizona. Fresh aquifers in South Florida were under saline water intrusion due to the over-extraction of water. Therefore, several states in the United States have been affected by a water crisis ranging from lack of access to plumbing facilities to tainted tap water, which has led to increased transmission of various waterborne diseases.
Significance of the Crisis from the Emergency Responders’ or Nursing Perspective
Nurses and emergency responders can play significant roles in such scenarios for the benefit of the affected citizens. Since nurses deal with the direct impact of the problems caused by contaminated water, they can advocate for the protection of clean water at the local, state, and federal levels. Additionally, nurses and other medical personnel within the healthcare setting can create awareness of the health effects of consuming such contaminated water. Drinking contaminated is likely to harm public health by triggering waterborne diseases or other immediate illnesses such as acute gastroenteritis (Allaire, Wu, & Lall, 2018). Emergency responders can also advise the affected American citizens on the proper response plan during the crisis.
Occurrence Rate
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been collecting data on water quality violations around the nation for more than three decades. Still, no one has released a national review examining long-term patterns in those data. Approximately 45 million American citizens from 1982 to 2015 have been exposed to consuming contaminated water that violated the standard of health. During this period, low-income communities within the U.S.A like Flint, Denmark, Martin County, and Kentucky were more aggressively affected by the lack of water access. In the face of outdated infrastructure, contaminated source water, and stretched community resources, ensuring a clean water supply for communities across the U.S.A. is becoming increasingly difficult.
Following the Flint lead crisis that began in 2014, there is an urgent need to address the present status of drinking water in the United States. Nevertheless, no national evaluation of trends in drinking water quality breaches over several decennia has yet been done. Attempts to eliminate infractions are a national priority, considering that over 21 million individuals relied on municipal water systems that breached health-based quality requirements in 2015. In 2016, approximately 3000 places in the U.S.A had lead contamination problems, but the situation was never published. There exist some other cases of lead poisoning that occurred some years back; for instance, some years back, there existed several cases of lead contamination. For instance, in 2001, drinking water in Washington D.C. was contaminated due to aging water infrastructure. Additionally, three years later, the same situation struck Columbia, and later in 2006, three regions were affected; North Carolina, Durham, and Greenville.
Physiological Responses to the Disaster
The American water crisis extends far beyond the Flint lead crisis, and more than 30 million individuals have been under the consumption of contaminated water since 2019. Lack of clean water to drink and intake of contaminated water poses several health effects that begin right after one takes the contaminated water. Water is the lifeblood of all life on earth, especially human beings. This takes a worrying turn when a given number of U.S. citizens do not get access to clean drinking water. Water has several roles in the body that will be adversely affected when there is no water intake or when the consumed water is unhealthy. Some physiological actions that will be adversely affected are regulating the body temperature and moistening the body tissues found in the areas such as the eyes, mouth, and nose.
Additionally, the transportation of nutrients and oxygen to cells around the body will be impaired. With a lack of water to drink, there will be low or insufficient water to lubricate the joints. Lack of water can also result in the liver and kidney’s impaired function by the inability to flush out the body’s waste materials. Lastly, there will be a not adequate amount of water to help in dissolving the nutrients and minerals of the body.
The Flint water crisis had an immense impact on the U.S.A. citizens living in Flint City and Michigan. The crisis led to several cases of Legionnaires disease and lead poisoning due to the aged pipes put in place 100 years ago. The Flint city-state crisis led to increased levels of lead in the blood of the kids within the state of Michigan; this situation was more intense in homes with aging water infrastructure.
Psychological Responses to the Disaster
The Flint water situation has led to several forms of indirect mental impacts; for instance, the condition has led to anxiety among the citizens of the U.S.A. living within the city. The residents of Michigan are worried because of the negative impact of the poisoned water on the mental and physical health of both children and adults. There has been increased anger and stress among the individuals living within the state. The people have felt betrayed by the politicians who seem not to be addressing the issue (Brooks & Patel, 2020). Ever since the problem of the water crisis began, the affected individuals within Michigan have been depressed and have suicidal thoughts. Most affected individuals have sought counseling and treatment for a mental breakdown. Michigan had increased negativities compared to the period before the water crisis. Additionally, the citizens of Michigan developed sleep problems; most had emotional outbursts, trouble concentrating, and reduced appetite (Brooks & Patel, 2020). Some citizens outside Michigan also developed psychological conditions upon learning what was happening to their fellow citizens or relatives.
Interagency Coordination/ Discipline Collaboration
Some of the research disciplines that serve as consultation firms on matters of aquaculture and the status of water are aquatic ecology, aquatic toxicology, aquatic microbiology, Atmospheric Science and Ecohydrology, and biogeochemistry researchers. These disciplines play essential roles in a water institute to ensure that the distributed water is safe for consumption. There exist some other agencies that are involved or concerned with water interests. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the United States establishes regulations and guidelines for a wide range of pollutants in public drinking water, notably disease-causing microorganisms and chemicals. EPA is considered to have failed or neglected its duties that fall among the main problems that the citizens of the U.S.A. have been facing; contamination of drinking water and scarcity of clean water in some regions. The organization is therefore considered ineffective in handling its duties across several affected states as it failed to monitor and assess the water infrastructure that interconnects several states, especially the low-income states.
Upon the occurrence of the crisis that has been worsening, several organizations came in support to help in finding a quicker solution to the situation and assist the affected individuals. In the Flint water crisis, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Department of Homeland Security tried to solve the prevailing crisis. Additionally, some organizations served as sources of the water being supplied in the state of Michigan: Detroit Water, Sewerage Department, Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA), and Flint River water source (FWS).
Some organizations were in charge of the emergency response after the declaration of a state of emergency in the state. These organizations include; the US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (CDC/ATSDR); these organizations worked together to come up with a recovery and response plan that could serve to help the affected citizens (Ruckart et al., 2019). In addition, they were responsible for conducting blood lead screening among the affected individuals and assessing the lead exposure in the affected communities. The emergency response organizations, through their personnel, were responsible for identifying and connecting community individuals with appropriate environmental, social, and educational follow-up services. The CDC personnel aided the Gene-see County Health Department in processing BLL testing and reaching families of children with increased levels of lead to ensure they received the appropriate assistance.
The Outcomes of the Public Health Crisis
The U.S.A water crisis led to several outcomes within the continent; one of the impacts includes identifying the contaminants or chemicals in the water, such as lead and arsenic compounds. According to a recent analysis, pollution from hazardous Chemicals and aging infrastructure are forcing tens of millions of Americans to consume tainted water, raising the risk of cancer and other diseases. Over the last two years, the Environmental Working Group has detected 56 new toxins in the United States’ tap water, including radioactive and pesticide compounds (EWG). The water crisis enabled the citizens to be aware of the amounts of contaminants in most of the circulating tap water. 118 of the 120 samples exhibited Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) levels over the CR’s recommended threshold or measurable lead concentrations. Testing of North Carolina samples revealed that more than a 35percent of the samples had PFAS, potentially harmful arsenic compounds, at levels exceeding the CR’s advised maximum. Approximately 8 percent of the samples had arsenic levels over the CR’s safe limit.
Nearly every sample tested positive for PFAS, a class of chemicals prevalent in hundreds of household items. These chemicals have been related to learning disabilities in children, cancer, and other health issues. Suppose the issue is not fully resolved, and the necessary solutions are initiated. In that case, it is likely to result in elevated cases of gastrointestinal ailments, neurological system or effects on the reproductive parts, and other chronic diseases. Additionally, many individuals within the affected regions were psychologically affected; for instance, some were depressed while others were angry at the responsible individuals.
The public health crisis led to identifying the root cause of the problem, the EPA’s weakness, after being instated to be the organization in charge of the safety and supply of water within the U.S.A. It was found that the problem of poor water infrastructure has been a long-term issue since 2001, and no significant action has been taken since that period. The aging piping has not been restored for more than 90 years. Most relevant authorities directly or indirectly linked to the issue were charged, while others resigned from their offices, especially from EPA.
Recommended Improvements
Preparedness
The crisis has brought to light how the leading organization in charge of water distribution has not been prepared. EPA should develop a comprehensive strategy to plan for the strategies ahead. Not all crises can be avoided, but the Preparedness Cycle can efficiently prepare and mitigate the risk of loss of life and property in a disaster. Through proper planning, management, and staff training, EPA will always be able to develop resilience in case of any disaster.
Mitigation
Some of the activities that EPA and other emergency response teams could initiate to prevent a high degree of harm to U.S.A citizens include; constant sampling and testing of the contents of the tap water. This should be done in various low-income and developed states’ households. The organizations should also ensure there is always an immediate response to address any issue of contamination or water shortage.
Response
The response team and the EPA should offer constant training to their employees to ensure they are always alert and ready for any situation or crisis. The response team should be equipped with the proper response care plan and the steps to take to save lives. EPA should always ensure there is a backup to situations of water shortage and ensure there are no longer water outages in all the states.
Recommended Post-disaster Care and Recovery Solutions
After declaring a state of emergency on the water crisis, the central government should now handle the situation to facilitate quicker actions. The problem with the aging piping and other tap water contamination from the source should be prioritized to address the widespread problem of water solutions. In addition, plumbing or complete installation of water infrastructure should then be done in the rest of the states that lack water supply. Lastly, the federal government, in coordination with the state authorities, should ensure the affected families and households receive proper treatment after blood screening. The U.S. government should also ensure that root cause analysis is verified clearly to ascertain long-term solutions to the problem to minimize the future occurrence of the same situation.
Additionally, a proper audit should be carried out on each of the organizations that are considered responsible for the crisis to ascertain their effectiveness. The responsible leaders among the identified organizations should be questioned for neglect of duty. The state government should reshuffle the leadership among those various organizations. The activities of these organizations should constantly be monitored for their performance and effectiveness. Lastly, the new infrastructural development should be done under proper supervision to ensure shift and quicker installations.
References
Allaire, M., Wu, H., & Lall, U. (2018). National trends in drinking water quality violations.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(9), 2078-2083. Web.
Brooks, S. K., & Patel, S. S. (2020). Psychological consequences of the Flint Water Crisis: A Systematic Review.medRxiv. Web.
Langin, Katie. (2018). Millions of Americans drink potentially unsafe tap water. How does your county stack up? Rural, low-income Americans are most at risk of contaminants.Science. Org. Web.
Ruckart, P. Z., Ettinger, A. S., Hanna-Attisha, M., Jones, N., Davis, S. I., & Breysse, P. N. (2019). The Flint water crisis: A Coordinated public health emergency response and recovery Initiative.Journal of Public Health Management and Practice: JPHMP, 25 Suppl 1, Lead Poisoning Prevention (Suppl 1 Lead Poisoning Prevention), S84–S90. Web.