Detailed Report: Community Water Quality, Contamination, and Solutions

This report provides an analysis of a community's water quality, emphasizing the importance of safe drinking water and adherence to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards. The report examines the community's water supply system, which serves over 1000 households, and reviews annual water quality reports from the past two years. These reports detail the sources of water (drilled wells, ponds, springs, and rivers), the types of contaminants (microbial, organic, and inorganic compounds), and the levels of contaminants compared to regulatory standards. The report highlights that while there were no violations, there were instances where the water quality was below standard but was rectified promptly. It also discusses the major issue of water pollution, identifying point sources (industrial discharges), non-point sources (agricultural activities), and natural sources (plant matter, sea salt, and volcanic eruptions) of contamination. The report further examines the effects of water pollution on both the environment and human health, including waterborne diseases and the impact on aquatic ecosystems, referencing various studies and reports on water quality and pollution. It underscores the need for measures to control pollution and ensure the provision of safe water for the community.

WATER QUALITY
Water is an essential substance to the environment and its constituents, including the
economy of the world. Although the water is vital for drinking it varies depending on the
conditions of the water source. The water, safe for drinking, should be treated accordingly
and must meet the requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency. In most cases,
water supply is done through a community system under environmental regulations.
Our community has its own system of water supply, which supplies more than 1000
households. Annual reports are presented concerning the quality of the water we drink. In the
last two years, the reports that have been presented create awareness to the community about
the safe water. The reports contain different information which includes but not limited to
about the source of water, contaminants levels, and other standards of water quality as well as
the violation of contaminant level (Power, 2017). From the reports in our community, it is
shown that there was no violation of the regulations on the standard level of contamination.
After conducting different contamination tests, one of the reports shows that at some extent,
our drinking water was not to the required standard, but then the problem was rectified
instantly. The major aspects that were discussed in the reports include the source of the water,
the constituents of the water and comparison to the standards that states allow (A. Kornberg,
2018).
The main sources of water in our community are from drilled wells, ponds, springs and rivers
etc. Contaminants include microbial compounds, organic compounds and inorganic, among
others may be present in these sources of water. The reports show that the location of water
sources and the amount of water collected from those sources. However, the two reports
display the types of contaminants that we're tested, which include but not limited to nitrates,
inorganic compounds, radiological compounds, copper, and coliform. Finally, the reports
indicate how the contaminants are removed and show the degree standards of water quality
and whether there was any violation. Possible measures set to avoid violating the regulations
were also indicated.
Our health is very important; hence we should ensure that we always use quality water in our
homes. Our community water system is trying as much as possible to ensure that we are
provided with safe water at all times. However, in realizing this, there is an issue that always
arises. The main issue of water quality in our community is pollution. It is the major threat to
human health as far as water is a concern; hence possible measures should be set to curb this
problem. In most cases, the main source of pollution in every society is from human activities
(Alrumman, 2016). In our community, the source of water pollution involves point sources,
natural sources and non-point sources.
Point sources are single-source pollution and include discharge from the industries within and
outside our community. The effluents discharged from those industries may either be legal or
illegal, but both carry contaminants. Although the discharges may be treated and regulated by
the EPA, they still contaminate the water. Another source of water pollution in our
community is the non-point source which takes a larger percentage and includes human
activities, especially agricultural. More than half of the people in our community rely on the

groundwater through drilled wells. Fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides are the main
pollutants of groundwater. These contaminants get into the aquifer, and once in, it is very
difficult to remove; almost impossible. Apart from these sources, there are also natural
sources of pollution which include organic compounds from plants (mostly nutrients), sea salt
and dust from deserts. Moreover, during volcanic eruptions and forest fires, some natural
contaminants are discharged into water (Mallik, 2018).
The contaminants in the water have various effects on the environment and human health.
Every year, more than one million deaths are experienced worldwide, and not less than one
billion are sickened. Communities with low income are the most affected with waterborne
diseases caused by water pathogen. Our community is not an exception since it falls under the
low-income communities. Human and animal wastes are the main source of viral and
bacterial diseases in the water. The waterborne diseases that always affect our community
include cholera and typhoid. Wealthy nations, however, are not very safe due to illegal
releases to water which in turn pollute the water and can cause illness. For example, in the
U.S (especially California), many people become ill from Legionnaires disease from water
sources such as piped water (Gurjar, 2018). On the other side, water pollutants in the lakes
and oceans influence the growth of algae which causes eutrophication creating dead zones.
Waterways like rivers as well are contaminated by toxic chemicals and metals which risk
aquatic lives. Marine debris and ocean acidification, on the other hand, threatens the Marine
environment (Wang, 2016).

Reference
A. Kornberg, T. S. (2018). A Water Quality Report (Annual).
Alrumman, K. &. (2016). Water Pollution: Source and treatment. American Journal of
Environmental Engineering, 88-98.
Gurjar, S. &. (2018). Water Pollution, Human Health, and Remediation. In Water
Remediation (pp. 11-27). Springer, Singapore.
Mallik, A. &. (2018). Sources and Causes of Water Pollution in Bangladesh: A Technical
Overview. Bibechana.
Power, N. (2017). Annual Drinking Water Quality Report.
Wang, Q. &. (2016). Industrial Water Pollution, Water Environment Treatment, and Health
Risks in China. Environmental Pollution, 358-365.