Introduction: Water Pollution in the United States
The issue of water scarcity and to following strategy for its sustainable use is quite tricky. While technically being a renewable resource, water should not be viewed as the one that can replenish itself, either – due to the dangerously high rates of water pollution, the existing amounts of freshwater are getting increasingly low.
Although water pollution can hardly be ceased entirely, the current rates of water pollution can be reduced by resorting to the sustainable principle of water use in both the industrial area and the realm of the household. By increasing awareness among the population and developing a sustainable approach towards the usage of the existing water resources, one will be capable of addressing the water pollution rates in the USA.
Discussion: Causes of Water Pollution and the Means of Reducing It
Key Causes: The Dirty Side of Water Use
Unfortunately, there is no single negative factor that contributes to the increase in water pollution rates, and there is no malefactor, either – instead, it is the inconsiderate use of the existing resources that triggers water pollution. Among the key factors that trigger water pollution, its industrial usage seems to be the reason for concern for the most part. However, it is the urban runoff (i.e., the abuse of water resources by the residents of the urban areas) that triggers the so-called nonpoint (i.e., irreversible) source pollution.
Sewage
Along with nutrients and chemicals pollution, the contamination by sewage discharges is an especially huge threat to the American resources of clean water.
Industrial waste
While having to comply with the existing regulations regarding environmental protection, a range of companies resort to unclean practices by dumping their waste into the areas, where the waste becomes a threat to water. The recent Exxon scandal has shown that the estimated $8.9 billion of environmental damages has been made in 2015 (THE EDITORIAL BOARD, 2015).
Underground storage leakages
Underground storage tanks, which traditionally contain petroleum and other harmful substances, often tend to leak, therefore, triggering the release of petrol and the related substances into water, hence the water pollution.
Septic tanks
Contributing to underground storage leaking (), septic tanks contribute to water pollution in the U.S. significantly by discharging around 2 sq. m of waste into the water daily (BELIN, 2015).
Ocean dumping
Another essential factor that defines the rates of water pollution in the USA, ocean dumping needs to be reduced significantly.
Oil pollution
The notorious case of Exxon’s oil spill in 2015 (THE EDITORIAL BOARD, 2015) has shown that oil pollution must be prevented at all costs. The 2013 oil pollution issues have caused the USA 125 miles of coast, affecting the water and the wildlife in the vicinity (Oil spills and disasters, 2014).
Radioactive waste
Much like ocean dumping, radioactive waste disposal is difficult to trace and, therefore, it is easier for organizations dealing with the substances in question to dispose of them improperly.
Fossil fuels burning
Emitting around 117,000, 164,000 and 208,000 billion Btu annually (Comparison against other fossil fuels, 2015), natural gas, oil and coal correspondingly pose a serious threat to the quality of water in the United States.
Landfill leakage
The problem of land pollution and the following contamination of groundwater is a major problem for the United States. According to the 2015 statistics, 56% of trash in the USA is transported to landfills (BRADFORD, 2010). The leakage from the latter, in its turn, poisons the groundwater in the vicinity with detritus from rotten food and the pollutants from plastic items decomposition (BRADFORD, 2010).
Animal waste
Animal droppings also decompose into the elements that, when introduced to the soil, penetrate the groundwater area and, therefore, pollute the water.
Atmospheric deposition
The destruction of atmosphere layers leads to the exposition of water resources to an extreme level of radiation and, therefore, triggers their untimely desiccation.
Global warming
One of the most notorious and, nevertheless, the one of the lengthiest effect, global warming causes the U.S. rivers to overflow; as a result, the sewage contents will pour into clean water, contaminating it. 1.2 trillion gallons of sewage contaminate freshwater annually in the U.S (Water pollution facts, n. d., para. 24).
Death of aquatic animals
Global warming triggers a steady rise in the temperature of the water, thus, causing deaths of numerous aquatic organisms. The decomposition elements of the latter pollute the waters of the Atlantic Ocean coast and the American rivers.
Diseases
By introducing wastewater to rivers and oceans, the authorities of the U.S. risk the contamination of the aquatic animals and, therefore, the transfer of pollution by the sick animals to the clean water areas.
Food chains disruption
The effects of wastewater and food chains disruption are, in fact, reciprocal, as the latter trigger an increase in the death toll among the water life forms and, therefore, cause the contamination of water with the decomposition products, the algae, which are no longer consumed by the deceased aquatic animals, etc.
Ecosystems destruction
As a result of the lack of proper food, the inhabitants of the American rivers and seas, as well as the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Arctic Oceans are likely to die out. The lack of certain elements of the ocean food chain, in its turn, will result in higher death tolls among the aquatic animals and, thus, higher decomposition rates.
Reaching the point of no return
Agriculture
To facilitate proper growth of crops, American farmers and farming organizations spend water resources unreasonably. 130 billion gallons being used for irrigation and livestock (ADMIN, 2011), agriculture is the leading cause of water scarcity in some of the regions of the USA.
Municipal point sources
Leading to a significant reduction of dissolved oxygen, MPS also drastically affect the cleanness of water in the U.S.
Urban runoff
Made of impervious materials, pavement does not allow snow and rain to trickle into the ground; as a result, the hydrological water cycle is disrupted.
Stream/habitat changes
Another factor that causes numerous water creatures to die or migrate, stream and habitat changes alter essential characteristics of the environment, thus, causing water to become filled with bacteria, algae, etc.
Means of Control: Starting with Personal Responsibility
Reasonable use of water
Sustainability as the basis towards the use of water resources can be viewed as the strategy that should make the basis for the proper use of water. The specified approach must be deployed at every level of water resources distribution from municipal to agricultural.
Pollution Prevention Act
Adopted in 1990, the Act creates the premises for “reducing the amount of pollution through cost-effective changes in production, operation, and raw materials use” (Summary of the Pollution Prevention Act, 1990, par. 1).
Raising awareness among the citizen
Apart from designing legal ramifications, state authorities should consider the idea of influencing people on a personal level. By promoting the responsible use of resources, one will be capable of reducing water waste rates significantly.
Reducing the number of solids
Solid waste reduction is likely to postpone the process of water supplies exhaustion.
EPA laws enhancement
Although the approaches suggested by EPA are generally reasonable, they seem to have been disregarded when defining the strategies for water resources use in the USA. Thus, there is a need to facilitate compliance with EPA laws. This can be done by imposing fines on the individuals and organizations abusing water resources.
Ocean Dumping Program
The program was designed in 2014 after the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (Research project description, 2014) and requires sustainable and responsible disposal of waste.
Oil Pollution Prevention regulation
Designed for addressing the issues such as the case of Exxon and, therefore, preventing the catastrophes related to oil spills, the specified act requires that specific standards for oil tanks design and the storage of oil therein should be complied with.
Solutions to be designed: radioactive waste and direct injection
Even though there is no solution to handling the issue of radioactive waste management, as well as the process of direct injection, measures must be taken to facilitate remoteness of the specified types of waste from any life forms and sources of water.
Abandoning the use of landfills
Although there is no alternative to landfill use for waste management at present, a more appropriate location of landfills can be considered a possibility. Specifically, the regions, where groundwater flows are generally very low, can be viewed as an option (BRADFORD 2010).
Animal waste collection
While the process of collecting animal waste may be rather complicated due to the difficulties related to tracing the locations of stray animals, making people take proper care of their pets and picking up the droppings left by the latter can be carried out comparatively easily by issuing the corresponding laws.
Global warming prevention
A very complex and difficult task, it involves a variety of measures starting from the sustainable use of resources to the transfer to driving hybrid vehicles and refrain from usage of a variety of pollutants including aerosols.
Marine sustainability
Introducing a set of more rigid regulations regarding the waste disposal for businesses along with the development of marine sustainability principles may help in not only preventing water pollution but also addressing the negative effects that it has caused.
Sanitation
The U.S. authorities have adopted a range of programs aimed at water sanitation, including the USAID’s Water and Development Strategy (USAID, 2013).
Sustainable use of resources
The introduction of individuals and organizations to a reasonable usage of water has recently been viewed as an opportunity in the United States.
Sustaining ecosystems: green infrastructure
Likewise, the key principles of sustainability should be adopted when allowing the key ecosystems to retain their
Addressing nonpoint source pollution
Clean Water Act
Another suggestion for reconsidering the current rates of water usage, the CWA presupposes that the “basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States” (Summary of the Clean Water Act, 2015) should be established and that similar regulations should be provided for the use of freshwater in the USA.
NPDES Permit Program
A program aimed at regulating the current use of water, it regulates the sources, which discharge pollutants into the ocean (NPDES Stormwater Permit Program, 2015).
Wastewater programs
The phenomenon of wastewater harvesting () has been created for the sake of reducing urban runoff and may have a significant effect on sustainable water use once the awareness regarding the subject matter is increased. Even a more adequate use of water by the residents of the area can be facilitated with the introduction of similar programs. The refusal to use impervious pavement materials for sidewalks and driveways should also be viewed as an option (Urban nonpoint source fact sheet, 2003).
Total maximum daily loads
Seeing that no alternative to waste disposal for major companies have been designed yet, the organizations that dump waste into the ocean have to comply with the existing restrictions on the amount of waste that they can deposit. Unfortunately, not all states follow the requirements set by the TMDL Act (see Appendix A).
Watershed management
Likewise, the watershed management approach, which presupposes that careful studies of the watershed should be carried out with the following location of the problem areas and the measurers designed for addressing the emerging issues in a manner as timely and efficient as possible. There is no secret that watershed management presupposes dealing with not only the issue of water pollution but also the problem of habitat destruction. In other words, watershed management programs adopted in the USA currently allow for handling several issues simultaneously and, therefore, promoting a more sustainable approach towards the consumption and usage of the existing water resource.
Green infrastructure
The aforementioned sustainability issue can be attained through a series of actions that are determined for enhancing habitat recovery. Indeed, as it has been stressed above, the lack of sustainability in the management of the water resources in the USA triggers an immediate decay of the existing variability in American nature. As a result, a range of species faces the threat of extinction, therefore, triggering the overpopulation of water with smaller animals and algae (i.e., the elements that used to be the food of the extinct species). Thus, by restoring the habitats that have been destroyed, the American community will be capable of replenishing water resources or, at the very least, saving the ones that they still have at their disposal.
National Water Quality Initiative
Though having started their activity comparatively recently, the proponents of the NWQI movement have already designated “approximately five percent of EQIP financial assistance to targeted agricultural conservation practice implementation in 165 HUC 12 NWQI watersheds” (Session M5: quantifying agricultural nonpoint sources and controls, 2013, p. 2).
Fostering personal responsibility
Last, but not least, the idea of promoting personal responsibility as the basis for sustainable water use must be viewed as an option.
Conclusion: Spring Cleaning on a Global Scale
Although water is traditionally viewed as a renewable resource, the nonpoint pollution factors in the United States make the threat of water scarcity dangerously high. Therefore, a more sustainable approach towards the use of water not only industrial but also household levels must be introduced into the framework of the U.S. water usage.
Reference List
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