And we thought South Africa had problems with our water?? Then again what you are about to read might be disturbing if you reside in The USA or UK BUT how do we know this is not the case here in good old SA?

In The USA and UK there are reports of wastewater discharges, and the efforts to stop them have been frequent topic of intense discussion in 2010. Sewage discharges were reported in cities that have rivers which supply large regions with drinking water. If you get your water from the Mississippi river, some of your water goes from toilet to tap. The city of Bettendorf Iowa alone discharged 67 million gallons of sewage into the Mississippi river in 2009. In June of 2010, the city of St. Louis Mo. had an accidental discharge over the course of several days that dumped 4.6 million gallons of waste into the Mississippi per day ~ yeuck….

The Great Lakes, a source of drinking water for much of the Midwest did not escape the “brown tide” either.  From January of 2009 to January of 2010 five U.S cities on the Great Lakes dumped a total of 41 billion gallons of untreated sewage and wastewater into the lakes. The city of Cleveland Ohio touts infrastructure improvements that it says will reduce the amount of sewage spills from 9 billion gallons a year to 4.5 billion gallons a year. It is highly encouraging to see cities with plans to tackle the sewage crisis, but 4.5 billion gallons is still a lot of poo.

Even people living in the country seeking “clean living” are not likely to escape the brown tide. The late singer John Denver sang longingly in the 70’s about county roads and his home in West Virginia. A recent lawsuit alleges that 160,000 homes in West Virginia illegally discharge raw sewage into their local waterways, and the problem has existed for decades. People living in Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” fare no better. A report by the Black Warrior Riverkeeper, which monitors sewage spills on the Black Warrior River shed, reports that spills are widespread. The report also states that sewage contamination is threatening local water supplies.

Merrie Olde England does not find much to celebrate about in reports of widespread sewage spills into the Thames, which threatens water quality in London. In a city famous for its pubs, the toilet has taken its place alongside the many brews “on tap” at local establishments. London, like many cities in the UK and the US blame its problems on antiquated infrastructure.
Without major infrastructure improvements, sewage discharges into public drinking water sources are likely to get worse. Many water utilities “fight back” by treating their water with chlorine in order to kill the deadly bacteria found in soiled water. Unfortunately, the chlorine produces problems of its own, including cancer-causing chloramines.

The only effective way to protect oneself against the threat of water borne effluent is to install a “whole house” water filter system. A whole house system treats the water before it enters the household, so all sinks and baths in a home are a source of safe water. A whole home filtration system should be viewed as essential as a fire alarm for keeping families safe. Until next time.

Ryan Williams
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