Paper Example on Fayetteville, NC Water Quality Report: 19 Contaminants Detected

My location of choice was Fayetteville, a city located in Cumberland County, in North Carolina (Fayetteville, NC, 2020). The specified water supplier is the Fayetteville Public Works Commission, which serves over 200,000 people, with its primary source of water being surface water (Environmental Working Group, 2017). There was a total of 19 contaminants that were detected. Some contaminants had surpassed the recommended health guidelines while others were within limits. For this assignment, two pollutants will be discussed; one that had exceeded the health limit, and one that was within the health guidelines.

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Chloroform was above the health limit, while Flouride had not exceeded the required threshold. Chloroform is a chemical that results from chlorination of swimming pools, drinking water, or wastewater and is at times released in the air (Environmental Protection Agency, 2016). Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral usually found in salty and fresh water sources or rainwater (World Health Organization, 2004). When I first saw a list of 19 contaminants, I got mixed reactions. I was shocked, disgusted, and fearful. I, however, think the government is acting sufficiently towards informing the public. There are available water contamination reports online as well as ways of filtering the contaminants. The information will impact my life and that of family members positively as I will be more careful ion the kind of water that we take. Knowing the results of the report will also enable me to use the right filters to reduce the contamination levels. These filters include ion, exchange, activated carbon, and reverse osmosis (Eisenberg & Middlebrooks, 1986). Lastly, I will work towards educating my community on the contaminants and how to reduce them.

References

Eisenberg, T. N., & Middlebrooks, E. J. (1986). Future of reverse osmosis in the treatment of drinking water. Reverse Osmosis Treatment of Drinking Water, 247-248. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-250-40617-3.50016-0

Environmental Protection Agency. (2016). Chloroform. United States Environmental Protection Agency | US EPA. Retrieved March 31, 2020, from https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-09/documents/chloroform.pdf

Environmental Working Group. (2017). EWG's tap water database: What's in your drinking water? EWG | Environmental Working Group. Retrieved March 31, 2020, from https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/system.php?pws=NC0326010#EPAdata

Fayetteville, NC. (2020). City of Fayetteville, North Carolina. Fayetteville, NC | Home. Retrieved March 31, 2020, from https://fayettevillenc.gov/

Flower, P. R. (1998). Case study: Faure water treatment plant potable water treatment and sludge handling. Chemical Water and Wastewater Treatment V, 399-412. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-72279-0_32

Mechenic, C., Andrews, E., & Peterson, J. O. (2018). Home water safety. Extension Adams County - University of Wisconsin-Madison. Retrieved March 31, 2020, from https://adams.extension.wisc.edu/files/2013/01/Home-Water-Safety-Evaluating-the-Condition-of-Your-Public-Community-Water-Supply.pdf

World Health Organization. (2004). Fluoride in Drinking-water. WHO | World Health Organization. Retrieved March 31, 2020, from https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chemicals/fluoride.pdf