Water Sources, Sustainability Issues, and Contaminants
The water sources for Los Angeles include the Colorado River, local groundwater, and the State Water Project. However, water usage in Los Angeles is not sustainable due to polluted groundwater and other bodies of water, such as the Los Angeles River (Best et al., 2021). There are issues with water scarcity in Los Angeles, making it experience the driest season on record.
The water sources used by Los Angeles are not the best options since groundwater supplies can get contaminated with microorganisms like bacteria, viruses, parasites, and chemicals found in fertilizers and pesticides. Besides the primary sources, other potential water sources could be rivers, streams, lakes, reservoirs, and springs. There are water quality issues in Los Angeles due to contaminants like arsenic, nitrate, and hexavalent chromium. Arsenic occurs naturally in the world’s crust (Shaji et al., 2021).
Natural rock formations are the principal source of arsenic in drinking water. As water moves through these formations, arsenic may dissolve and be transported into underground water sources like aquifers, streams, or rivers. Using wood preservatives, the release of dye and paint pigments, the waste from chrome plating, the leaching of hazardous waste sites, and the discharge of dye and paint pigments are different ways that hexavalent chromium can reach drinking water sources.
Health and Environmental Impacts of Water and Energy Sources
When ingested over an extended period, leukemia and skin sores can result from arsenic, which is present in food and water. Furthermore, diabetes and cardiovascular disease have been linked to arsenic (Rahaman et al., 2021). Young adult death has increased, and it has been shown that exposure during gestation and the first few years of life might affect how children’s brains develop later on.
Nitrate can change hemoglobin, the blood’s oxygen-carrying protein, into methemoglobin. The skin may turn blue or gray in excess amounts, and there may be more severe health consequences like fatigue, numbness, and disorientation. Water containing Cr6 may increase the risk of damage to the stomach, cancer, and the reproductive system. Those who come into direct contact with Cr6 can develop unpleasant skin rashes.
Los Angeles gets its energy from water, coal, gas, solar, nuclear, and wind power plants. These sources have various advantages and disadvantages. For instance, water is a reliable energy source that produces electricity at a reasonable price compared to other energy sources. However, using various aeration techniques that oxygenate the water, low dissolved oxygen levels in the water, which hydropower plants can bring on, are dangerous to riparian (riverbank) habitats.
Humans depend on coal since it is a common energy source, simple to obtain through mining, and readily available (Dai et al., 2021). However, pneumonia, cancer, lung and heart conditions, neurological issues, acid rain, rising temperatures, and other severe health and environmental effects are all associated with air emissions from coal-fired power plants.
Mineral Resources, Environmental Concerns, and the Role of the Los Angeles Aqueduct
Natural gas is advantageous as an alternative fuel since it is readily available domestically, has a reliable distribution system, is relatively inexpensive, and reduces emissions, whether it is produced using conventional or renewable methods. Natural gas has several issues, one of which is that it produces carbon dioxide, which is terrible for the atmosphere.
Solar energy uses less water than power facilities that generate electricity using steam turbines (Sharma et al., 2022). The weather occasionally has the potential to interfere with solar energy, which is a drawback. A plentiful and limitless resource, the wind generates power without fuel or causing environmental damage. However, wind reduces people’s reliance on fossil fuels. As the advantages of the energy sources outweigh the disadvantages, no more energy adjustments are advised.
Primary mineral sources in Los Angeles include rock deposits, oil, sand, and grit, which are obtained from natural aggregates and crushed rocks. Geographically, California and the greater Los Angeles area produce the most sand and gravel in the nation. Mine exploration, construction, operation, and maintenance could lead to land use changes, harming the environment. Deforestation, erosion, contaminating surrounding wetlands and streams, changing soil profiles, and increasing noise, dust, and pollutants are only a few examples.
The Los Angeles Aqueduct, formerly a network of hydropower, today acts as a distribution system for various energy sources, such as groundwater, coal, gas, photovoltaic, nuclear, and turbine power plants dispersed throughout the West. Air pollution, rising temperatures, water pollution, exhaust fumes, and managing solid waste are a few environmental issues directly linked to the creation and utilization of energy. The primary contributor to city air pollution is the production of chemicals from burning fossil fuels.
References
Best, K. B., Miro, M. E., Kirpes, R. M., Kaynar, N., & Chesler, A. N. (2021). Data-driven decision support tools for assessing the vulnerability of community water systems to groundwater contamination in Los Angeles County. Environmental Science & Policy, 124, 393-400. Web.
Dai, S., Finkelman, R. B., French, D., Hower, J. C., Graham, I. T., & Zhao, F. (2021). Modes of occurrence of elements in coal: A critical evaluation. Earth-Science Reviews, 222, 103815. Web.
Rahaman, M. S., Rahman, M. M., Mise, N., Sikder, M. T., Ichihara, G., Uddin, M. K.,… & Ichihara, S. (2021). Environmental arsenic exposure and its contribution to human diseases, toxicity mechanism, and management. Environmental Pollution, 289, 117940. Web.
Shaji, E., Santosh, M., Sarath, K. V., Prakash, P., Deepchand, V., & Divya, B. V. (2021). Arsenic contamination of groundwater: A global synopsis with focus on the Indian Peninsula. Geoscience frontiers, 12(3), 101079. Web.
Sharma, A., Shukla, A. K., Singh, O., & Sharma, M. (2022). Recent advances in gas/steam power cycles for concentrating solar power. International Journal of Ambient Energy, 43(1), 4716-4727. Web.