Slippery Rock Gazette

Sharon Koehler

Stone Industry Consultant

Water pollution is defined as: when chemicals or microorganisms—contaminate a stream, river, lake, ocean, aquifer, or other body of water, degrading water quality and rendering it toxic to humans or the environment. Basically, we make our water unfit for use by humans, plants, or animals.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch: bigger than the state of  Texas.

The sad thing is that we do this to ourselves either by accident or on purpose. Most of us remember the Flint, Michigan water crisis. The city of Flint changed its water supply from Detroit Water & Sewage which got its water from Lake Huron over to the Flint River that ran through town. The problem was that the Flint River was polluted, and Flint didn’t have the facilities to properly treat it. Scores of people got sick and countless children were exposed to unhealthy levels of lead. 

If not Flint, Michigan, then how about the Taylor Energy oil spill which has been ongoing SINCE 2004! It is estimated that 12,000-25,000 gallons leaked EVERY DAY for 16 years +/-. In 2016, the coast Guard along with some private contractors did get the leaking MOSTLY contained. It went from over 12,000 gallons a day down to between 420 and 4,200 gallons a day. In 2018 the Coast Guard set up a containment system that captures over 1,200 barrels a day. That is a big help.

Contrary to the above examples, big business or government are not the only people responsible for water pollution. Small businesses and individuals are also responsible for water pollution. At this time, it is estimated that 23 percent of the Earth’s water is polluted. The sad statistic is that every year, more people die from unsafe water than from all forms of violence, including war. Another statistic is that 2 MILLION tons of water-contaminating substances are released into the worldwide water supply EVERY DAY! 

What can businesses do to help fight water pollution? 

• Figure out which chemicals in your business can be a water contaminant and learn how to dispose of them properly (not down a toilet, sewer, or drainage ditch).
  
  

• Reduce your use of plastics. 60-95 percent of the trash in the ocean is plastic.
  
  

• If possible, recycle your water. Use eco-friendly solutions for your outdoor areas so harsh chemicals don’t get caught up in water runoff from storms.
  
  

• Develop a good leak and spill prevention and cleanup plan for the various substances in your business to prevent dangerous seepage and runoff. 
  
  

 

• Reduce other pollutants your business may be contributing to, such as air and land pollution. What is in the air eventually settles on the earth’s surface, including oceans, streams, and rivers. What settles on the land eventually runs off into the water as well.
  
  

Businesses aren’t the only ones that can help curb water pollution. Individuals can help as well. 

• Reduce your use of plastics. Just under 9 percent of all plastic actually gets recycled. Approximately 8 million pieces of plastic make its way to the ocean every day.
  
  

 

• Dispose of your trash correctly. Use a reputable waste company or a municipal dump site.
  
  

• Trash on the side of the road or dumped in sewers ends up in storm runoff and makes its way into public water systems like lakes and oceans. There is a patch of floating trash in the Pacific Ocean bigger than the state of Texas. 
  
  

• Don’t clean up a spill or leak by washing it into a sewer or storm drain. Soak it up with sand or kitty litter and dispose of it in a trash can.
  
  

• Take used oil from your car, lawn mower, generator, etc. to a proper disposal site. Don’t pour it down the toilet, sink or sewer drain. Most auto parts stores will take and properly dispose of used oil.
  
  

• Don’t litter. The next time you want to throw that candy wrapper or soda can out the car window…DON’T. Hold on to it until you get somewhere you can dispose of it properly. You may just think it’s just one can, but it isn’t because it’s not just you. It’s people worldwide are doing the same thing and our water is suffering from it. Litter ends up in storm runoff and makes its way into our water systems.
  
  

• Use eco-friendly home and garden products that don’t put harmful chemicals into your wastewater or storm runoff.
  
  

We tend to think of water as a never-ending resource, but we need to take care of it. If you add clean water to polluted water, what you have is more polluted water. The rain that falls from the sky is not always clean. You can’t always count on rainwater to be a fresh water source. Sometimes rain falls through air pollution and is dirty before it ever hits the earth. Water pollution affects marine animals and plants thus affecting our eco – system and our food supply. Let’s treat our water with kindness so it can continue to sustain us and give us what we need for work, play and life. 

Please send your thoughts on this article to Sharon Koehler at Sharonk.SRG@gmail.com.