Have you ever wondered when you turn on your faucet where the water comes from? For most of us, our drinking water will usually come from a surface water supply, a groundwater supply, or some combination of both. In general, most cities try to find the cheapest and cleanest water supply source available, which is usually from a river or a lake for their citizens.
When surface water sources are not available or sufficient to provide a consistent water supply, ground water sources are used to supplement or often provide the sole source of water for some smaller towns. When a water source cannot be used because its chemical composition or its quality prevents the functioning of natural biological processes and/or it produces undesirable environmental and health effects, this is called pollution.
Pollution, water quality, and the water we drink are all connected. If a water body fails to meet specific standards set for it by the state, it may be considered to be polluted. Water pollution can be fall into two categories, point source and non-point source pollution.
Point source pollution can be traced to a specific location, such as an industrial operation, or discharge from a wastewater treatment plant. This kind of pollution is generally controlled through regulations that require treatment of a facility’s wastewater before it is discharged into a nearby water body.
Nonpoint source pollution comes from more than one source at a time, carried by rainfall runoff into area lakes and creeks. Nonpoint source pollutants are more difficult to control because they often come from the everyday activities of many different people, such as fertilizing a lawn, using a pesticide, or constructing a new building on a small lot. Pollution may also originate from natural sources such as weather, erosion, and wildlife. Most water bodies are affected by both point sources and nonpoint sources of pollution.
So, now when you turn on your faucet, take a drink of water, or brush your teeth, remember that the water we use today has been used forever. But, if we fail to take care of our water, we will fail to take care of ourselves.
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