Water, vital for our health and essential for life may be our most important resource as well as the one we most take for granted. It’s indeed a miracle of engineering and human ingenuity that we can enjoy the luxury of modern plumbing and methods that provide drinking water directly to our homes and businesses. We are very fortunate people in the United States. While focus increases on those places where plumbing pipes need updating, let us not forget that we need to put the spotlight on those companies and facilities that disrespect our water and contaminate our water resources with pollutants and hazardous chemicals.

Here’s an interesting article from The Atlantic, the Politics of Drinking Water:

“Most Americans take cheap, safe drinking water for granted. Globally, one out of 10 people can’t access clean water. Some 1,400 children die each day from water-related diseases. Unless there’s a spill or equipment failure, these numbers exclude U.S. residents. Across the 50 states, 155,000 public water systems treat, filter, and deliver 100 gallons per person per day, all for the low cost of less than 1 cent per gallon.

Contaminant-free drinking water hasn’t always been part of the American experience. Until the early 1900s, shared public cups accompanied most drinking fountains. Cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery, and food poisoning from coliform bacteria—all potentially fatal—spread from mouth to cup and back again. Diarrhea was rampant. Not until l889, when Kohler Water Works invented the Bubbler, which pumped a continuous flow of water an inch into the air, did a spout replace the cup. To partake, drinkers stooped over the copper basin and slurped. What wasn’t sucked up dripped down the nozzle. Clean water mingled with saliva. Though an improvement over the public cup, bacteria still flourished.” Continue reading.

 

See my other posts related to water for further information, as well as this Proposal for Chicago to clean up the tap water once and for all.

 

A votre santé