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Introduction
In many parts of Nova Scotia, people face a number of problems that are related to water contamination. Drinking water that is supplied to many homes has natural and synthetic substances. Impurities pose serious threats to the health of consumers.
Moreover, contaminated water has the capability of damaging construction equipments, including plumbing materials. Households would probably complain due to undesirable taste, odor, color, and stains in case water is dirty. In Nova Scotia, issues related to water contamination are caused by ineffective supply.
This is because supply of drinking water is controlled by the private sector. However, municipalities are also accused of supplying impure water. Since contaminated water could cause diseases, it is the role of the government to ensure that water supplied to people is pure and free from any impurities. In this regard, impurities that have the ability of harming the populace should be disinfected to prevent the spread of diseases.
It is recommended that before water is utilized, proper testing should be conducted by a licensed laboratory and the results made public. Testing would allow the authorities to determine the types of impurities available in drinking water. Moreover, the level of contamination would be determined (Foulkes, 2007).
Upon identification of impurities, the authorities should go a notch higher to treat drinking water using the most cost-effective methods. The main objective of this paper is to identify the main impurities in water that pose threats to the health of households. The paper would review available data to establish facts about water treatment methods and their effectiveness in Nova Scotia.
Relevance of Water Quality Issue
Water is a basic need that should be provided to each citizen in any part of Nova Scotia. Research shows that an individual requires at least twenty to fifty liters of clean water daily for home use. Water pollution is detrimental to the survival of human beings because it brings about diseases. In the United Nations Charter, water is considered a basic need, which should be provided to all citizens at an affordable cost.
Clean water is essential in any economy because without it, children cannot attend school and companies cannot operate effectively. Therefore, it is the responsibility of all citizens and stakeholders to ensure that clean water is provided. Waterborne diseases are better prevented through maintaining high hygiene and treatment of water before consumption.
In this regard, the public, the government, commercial bodies, construction companies, and water treatment utilities have a role to play as far as provision of clean water is concerned. They are all stakeholders that should be involved in policy formulation in case clean water is to be provided adequately.
The role of the government is critical. The government serves as the custodian of the public good. In this case, it should always come up with policies aimed at resolving issues related to water contamination. It should ensure that companies follow the laid down rules and regulations.
Whenever a company releases contaminants to water sources, it must be forced to come up with ways through which contaminated water would be treated. The role of the government is to regulate waste discharge through constant environmental monitoring and evaluation. Companies believed to be polluting water bodies should be deregistered as one way of ensuring compliance. Members of the public have a role to play in ensuring that citizens receive clean water.
In case supplied water is contaminated, they are the ones affected directly because they would suffer from waterborne diseases, such as diarrhea and cholera. Therefore, they have to ensure that wastes are disposed in accordance to the laws provided by Nova Scotia authorities (Cohen, & Locker, 2001). Any one violating the law should be reported to the authorities and proper action should be taken.
Water treatment utilities should provide information to members of the public as regards to slapdash disposal of waste materials. They have a role to play as far as information circulation is concerned. In Nova Scotia, water treatment companies are known to provide invaluable information to the public mainly because of limited resources.
Therefore, all stakeholders should be involved in the formulation of policies to ensure that clean water is always made available to the populace. For commercial manufacturers, they should always observe the set laws because they are the leading producers of waste materials. For instance, chemical manufacturing companies are known to release wastewater into the water bodies without treating.
This is very dangerous to the marine ecosystem and human life. Chemicals contain harmful substances that are hurtful to the skin and lungs. In this regard, they should exercise restraint and ethics whenever they carry out their daily activities. Their simple mistakes could be costly to the economy.
Technical Review
Lead is one of the most dangerous components that affect human beings in case it is present in drinking water. In fact, its effects are serious than many people would think. Smelting activities are known to emit harmful substances to water bodies such as arsenic deposits, copper deposits, and lead particles. These substances are harmful to human health, as well as the environment.
In one of the studies conducted in the US, it was found out that residential soil had high quantities of lead, copper, and arsenic substances. Arsenic deposits were found to be in low concentration of bout 12.5mg to 540mg/kg per sample. However, copper was in high concentration of about 1270mg/kg to 39,700mg/kg per sample.
Furthermore, smelter operation is associated with water discharges such as selenium and molybdenum. Measurements obtained from water samples within the smelter region had impurities of cadmium, chromium, and arsenic materials. Regions surrounding the smelter had high levels of arsenic acids, which were over 0.239ug/m3 while regions without a smelter had very little levels of arsenic acids of about 0.0004ug/m3.
The smelter affects the composition of water in greater extents (Carstairs, 2012). The following diagram shows the process used in treating drinking water in Nova Scotia.
The pollutants emitted during the process of smelting metals affect the environment and human beings in a number of ways. The pollutants affect the environment because the substances mix with air and other substances to form acidic rain. For instance, the smelting of sulfide metals would perhaps produce sulfur dioxide gases.
The sulfide gases are known to react with other chemicals in air to form a dangerous sulfuric acid mist. Acidic rains augment the levels of acids in soils, lakes, and rivers. These acids are dangerous to aquatic life and the vegetation. This would mean that smelter pollutants affect wildlife as well. Copper pollutants have harmful chemicals that can affect vegetation, even though plants and animals use it for nourishment.
Arsenic chemicals are toxic substances that affect the normal functioning of the heart and the nervous system. The table below shows various technologies employed in treating drinking water in Nova Scotia.
Research shows that wastes and slag, which are by-products of smelter plants, are simple to manage. One of the recommendations is that wastes and slag should be recycled to prevent their effects to the environment and human beings. If this option were adopted, the waste material to be disposed would be little. Therefore, the environment would not be affected.
Another recommendation is that the smelter plant should adopt the current technologies, which have been proved to prevent smelter pollution. New technologies have the capability of capturing sulfur dioxide. The new devises, such as electrostatic precipitators, should be used to capture chemical particles. The particles could perhaps be returned to the boilers for more processing.
In one of the studies conducted in 1993, it was found out that over 800 drinking water systems are vulnerable to contaminants. Recent studies show that many Canadians are exposed to potentially hazardous quantities of lead in the drinking water. However, the government has come out strongly with legislations aimed at resolving the issue.
In the US, the government came up with a plan in 1991 aimed at reducing the levels of chemicals and microorganisms in drinking water. The new standards aimed at reducing specifically lead, which was believed to be the most dangerous substance. In the new regulations, the level of lead in drinking water must not go beyond 15 parts per billion (ppb).
Recent studies in the US and Canada suggest that the level of lead in drinking water is still high. This means that lead is still the most dangerous substance found in drinking water. In fact, studies show that lead is more harmful than many would think.
Bacteria are organisms that are found in almost all forms of food, including water. Chemical tests show that there are over a million types of bacteria, which would be found in foodstuffs and water. A bacterium is a single-celled organism, which is found in water in large quantities. The size of a bacterium is very small yet it has the capability of causing serious sickness.
Whenever people undertake their activities, they come across bacteria meaning that their lives are always in danger. The risk is high when consuming untreated water. It should be noted that some bacteria are harmful than others, particularly those that come from the sewage. In fact, those that originate from sewages are very harmful, even if they are present in small quantities.
In many parts of Nova Scotia, sicknesses such as cholera are attributed to bacteria. However, the availability of improved sanitation methods is changing the state of affairs. In Canada, the dangers posed by cholera and other hygiene related diseases are in decline, thanks to the efficient water treatment techniques. The tests are conducted in case water quality exceeds the following:
UV 254 nm Absorption 0.155 cm-1 (equivalent to a minimum UVT of 70%)
- Dissolved Iron 0.3 mg/L
- Dissolved Manganese 0.05 mg/L
- Hardness 120 mg/L
- Hydrogen Sulfide Non-detectable
Iron bacteria None pH 6.5 to 9.5
- Suspended Solids 10 mg/L
- Turbidity 1.0 NTU
- Total Coliforms 1,000/100mL
- E. coli *
- Cryptosporidium *
- Giardia *
In the developing world, hygiene related diseases are the major cause of deaths in many villages. This means that efficient water treatment techniques are critical as far as the health of the population is concerned. Studies show that individuals tend to develop immunity at an early age, which helps them in fighting the effects of bacteria.
However, studies show that people suffering from killer diseases such as cancer and AIDS are vulnerable. Moreover, newborns are unlikely to resist the effects of bacteria meaning that proper treatment of water is inevitable in case the community is to live peacefully.
Those with poor health due to chemotherapies suffer from bacteria related diseases quite often since their immunities are weak. It should be noted that bacteria found in drinking water originate from many sources. On the other hand, the main source is the top soil that surrounds the water system (Swan, 2005).
Bacteria have the ability of inhabiting every accessible surface meaning that they can easily grow under any climatic condition. It is very dangerous to consume water without treating because bacteria could have found their way into the soil through natural processes. During erection and refurbishment of water lines, microorganisms can get into drinking water causing infectivity.
Therefore, water treatment companies should ensure that they check the water lines regularly. In many parts of Nova Scotia, the municipal councils should test drinking water for the harmful type of bacteria referred to as E. coli. E. coli is a very harmful type of bacteria that should always be taken care of whenever it is found in water samples. The existence of E. coli implies that sewage infectivity could have taken place.
In the cities, the municipal councils should check for the presence of the bacteria several times a day. Bacteria are mainly categorized into two major classes. Pathogenic microorganisms can overcome the body’s common resistance meaning that healthy tissues are attacked.
Additionally, opportunistic or inferior pathogens are those that could perhaps lead to a disease when a strange chance, such as an open injury or censored immune structure, presents itself. It should be observed that few categories of bacteria are pathogenic.
Analysis of Technical Concept
From the above report, it is eminent that all water supply companies have a critical role of ensuring that consumers receive adequate and high quality drinking water. Moreover, the water supplied should be affordable to each consumer since it is a basic need. The objective of each water utility plant is to ensure that the health needs of consumers are met appropriately.
To attain this objective, each utility plant should ensure that water is obtained from a high-quality source. After collection of drinking water, the utility plants should always treat it well before supplying to the population. Moreover, frequent checks and tests should be undertaken to ascertain the quality of drinking water consumed by the population.
The standards set by the regulatory bodies should always be observed to ensure that the health of consumers is not compromised. In particular, the effects of contaminants should always be established before releasing the standards to suppliers and consumers.
The quality criteria should be based on the customer approval, verified handling practices, and efficient utility supervision. The least criteria should be as defined by Nova Scotia authorities (Maupomé, Clark, Levy, & Berkowitz, 2001).
For drinking water to be considered clean, it should not contain any pathogens. Moreover, it should be free from biological organisms, such as bacteria. In other words, high-quality drinking water should be colorless, odorless, and chemical free. Chemical components make drinking water physiologically injurious, aesthetically intolerable, and economically destructive.
High quality drinking water should not corrode water lines, such as construction pipes and plumbing materials. In many occasions, research shows that the criteria used in analyzing the safety of drinking water need to be reevaluated from time to time. This is because new harmful substances are identified on daily basis.
For the regulatory agencies, they should strive to come up with new standards that incorporate the new findings into their provisions. As for the treatment companies, they need to come up with advanced treatment methods in order to respond to the changing evaluation criterion.
Water quality strategists ought to think about all issues that have an effect on the quality of water, significance of the health of the populace, and the existing technology, which is needed in taking care of chemicals and microorganisms.
Through analysis, it is established that the factors taken into consideration in the process of designing policies aimed at offering clean drinking water should be realistic aspects, which are based on efficient designs and modes of operation. The cost of convening the quality criteria should also be practical.
In this case, it is the responsibility of various stakeholders to ensure that they cooperate in ensuring that water availed to the population is clean. Regulatory bodies, consumers, and water utility plants should forge a working relationship to ensure that everything moves smoothly. In several parts of Nova Scotia, water sources are not well situated to meet the needs of members of society.
In this case, each stakeholder should play its role faithfully to ensure that water resources are protected and made a priority. Through this, the society would be guaranteed of safe, sufficient, and aesthetically established water for home use.
In the current state of affairs, the effects of some substances, organisms, and ecological conditions are not yet fully established. As the society attempts to establish the effects of unknown substances and organisms, the government should always play a key role in offering regulatory services.
The government should always be involved in every stage to ascertain the effects of certain chemicals and organisms. A careful review of technical data reveals that quality-operating guidelines ought to be inclusive and objective. In other words, they have to respond to the dogmatic requirements and they should be appropriate for execution.
They ought to relate to selection, fortification, and supervision of water provision strategies. They have to consider operations that take care of and dispense water to customers. As far as this is concerned, all programs aimed at bringing clean water in the cities should be well planned. One of the strategies would be to develop resources and go a notch higher to offer efficient management.
Since the issue of sustainable development has been a problem to many stakeholders, adequate quantities of clean drinking water should be stored for future use (Hanlon, Carlisls, Hannah, Reilly, & Lyon, 2012). Moreover, the administrative system should come up with policies aiming at shielding the ground water.
This is better done through control of wastes and checking the way land is used. This strategy is referred to as watershed protection. Finally, the authorities ought to come up with quality operation levels, which are consistent to the needs of consumers.
Summary
In the current state of affairs, the authorities are not utilizing the quality control mechanisms effectively. In fact, it is rare to find stakeholders utilizing the regulatory standards, as provided by the regulatory body. In this case, stakeholders should be given sufficient time to modify the system design and operational procedures in order to meet the new changes brought about by the dogmatic laws.
Nova Scotia policy makers ought to incorporate system baseline data into their plans. This would be utilized for future planning. In case all stakeholders are provided with adequate information, practices that impede compliance with the quality criteria would be prevented.
For there to be high quality drinking water, health based dogmatic laws, water quality objectives, and appraisal levels should be established and made stronger.
References
Carstairs, C. (2012). Cities without cavities: democracy, risk, and public health. Journal of Canadian Studies, 44(2), 146-170.
Cohen, H., & Locker, D. (2001). The science and ethics of water fluoridation. Journal of Canadian Dental Association, 67(2), 578-580
Foulkes, R.G. (2007). Paradigms and public health policy versus evidence. Fluoride, 40(1), 229-237.
Hanlon, P., Carlisls, S., Hannah, M., Reilly, D., & Lyon, A. (2012). Making the case for a fifth wave in public health. Public Health, 125(3), 30-36.
Maupomé, G., Clark, G.C., Levy, S.M., & Berkowitz, J. (2001). Patterns of dental caries following the cessation of water fluoridation. Community Dental Oral Epidemiology, 29(1), 37-47.
Swan, E. (2005). Canadian Dental Association perspective on water fluoridation. Journal of Canadian Dental Association, 71(1), 532-548.
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