Water For Health

Archive for the ‘Water Supply’ Category

For the past five months Associated Press has investigated the safety of drinking water. The results of the probe find drugs in the drinking water of many major, urban area’s public water supplies. The probe finds such drugs in the drinking water – sex hormones, estrogen, radiation or chemotherapy prescriptions, mood stabilizers, painkillers, anti-convulsions, heart medicine and antibiotics.

New Jersey water supplies showed angina for heart patients and mood stabilizers while in the San Francisco water supply is was a sex hormone. New York public water supplies showed antibiotics, heart drugs, estrogen, tranquilizers and mood stabilizers. In California, 18 different drugs were found while in Philadelphia, 56 different drugs were detected. All told, they tested and found prescription drugs in 24 major city public water supplies. Of course, commonly found over-the-counter drugs were detected such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen.

So, how do pharmaceutical drugs get in drinking water? Good question, many hospitals and treatment centers dispose of sewage waste into the public sewage systems. These are now reclaimed, distilled and recycled due to droughts and water shortages.  Drug use in Americans has risen 12% in the past 5 years. The United States now spends 3.3 billion dollars on non-prescription drugs and 3.7 billion dollars on prescription drugs. These all flow back into our water supply which is recycled. Into our groundwater and aquifers they go, through farming operations and feedlots for plant growth. Our meat herds also have steroids for more muscle and poundage. 

Take the case of a Nebraska feedlot where cattle are given time-released steroids through an ear tag. When a downstream water supply was tested, the chemical tests came back 4 times higher downstream than upstream. The native fathead minnow species was found to have low testerone levels and small heads downstream. For more normal levels, a check found this was the case in the fathead they were upstream from the feedlot.  

The chemicals in our water supply can affect the natural evolution of humans.  The same types of drugs that are in the water supply are also the same type of drugs in your drinking coming out from your public water supply. Even bottled water is not safe as it isn’t regulated and come from tap. There is even a company boasting itself as NY Water – New York’s tap water.

The EPA and Department of Natural Resources confess that there are no treatment plants set up to treat prescription drugs in drinking water. This is because it is too costly to do on a large-scale basis.  Household filtration systems and reverse osmosis can remove prescription drugs in drinking water but this has to be done on a household level at this time being.  

It is time now for your own home water treatment options if you are concerned with drugs in the drinking water. How do pharmaceutical drugs get in drinking water? It’s not a pretty picture but thank goodness … now there is a way to get them out. 

Turn off Water

If any pipes are leaking or broken, turn off the water immediately to prevent further leakage and damage. There should be a turn off handle behind the toilet, but if the leak is somewhere you may have to turn off the water for the whole house.

Remove Water

If there is any or a lot of water in the area, take the time to remove all of it before cleaning. Use towels, rags, a shop vac, or anything you can to make sure you get every bit.

Dry Items

Wipe down all walls, wood paneling, and any wood furniture in the room. Moist wood can mold and produce moisture quickly, causing a mold problem. It’s important to have every thing dried off in advance. After drying everything and removing all water, let everything dry off for a little while before beginning to clean.

Ventilate

Turn on the ceiling vent fan if you have one in the bathroom, and open any windows in or near the area as well. The more airflow, the better so also bring in any floor fans you have as well.

Launder Fabrics

Any towels, bath rugs, or any other launder-able item needs to dried and laundered immediately. Put on gloves and squeeze out any extra water.

Remove Debris

If there is any debris or dirt in the area, put on some gloves and boots and remove it as carefully and quickly as possible. Use industrial garbage bags and one-time use rags (You can get bags or boxes of industrial paper towels or rags at auto supplies stores for cheap) to clean and clear all the dirt away.

Sanitize

Make a basic mixture of bleach and water and go over all the walls, floors, and even ceiling with it. You can do this in parts (with all windows open!) because the smell will be strong, and the fumes aren’t really good for you.

Clean Normally

Once you’ve removed the debris and de-sanitized, you’ll have to wait awhile for the fumes to clear. Once this is done, get your regular bathroom cleaners and gloves and go through and clean like you would normally. Pay special attention to any wood paneling at the bottom of the sink and around anything touching the floor.

Check for Mold

With any water damage, there’s always a risk of mold. Once clean, go around the bathroom and check for signs of mold or structure damage. Feel the walls to make sure they aren’t soft, and look for any sort of discoloration. If you’re unsure, call in a water damage expert to take a look.

In recent years, Global Water has funded multiple projects each year in Guatemala.

These completed projects include the following –

Healthy Schools Program

This is a wonderful program in Guatemala run by the Appropriate Technology Program in the

Peace Corps. During a Healthy Schools project, an “Appropriate Technology” Peace Corps volunteer works with a group of schools to help them build health-related facilities. These facilities include: water systems, latrines, kitchen facilities, and hand-washing stations (called lavamanos).

Once the necessary health-related facilities are installed and being used, the schools become

eligible to be recognized as a “healthy school” by the Guatemalan government agency that

builds and maintains schools. (hence, the Program’s name). The final activity that must be accomplished by the school is implementing an educational program to teach students how and why to use hygiene-related facilities.

As you can probably imagine, it’s quite an accomplishment for a school to be recognized by the Guatemalan Education Agency and so having a “healthy school” in a village is a significant point of pride for the village, as well as the students and teachers of the school.

Global Water funds a variety of projects within the Healthy Schools Program each year throughout Guatemala in partnership with the Peace Corps and local NGOs. Progress Reports from this program can be found under Progress Reports on the Global Water website.

The Panimachavac Project was a gravity-flow water supply and distribution system for the rural village of Panimachavac, located in the Department of Chimaltenago, Guatemala. There are 43 families living in the village with a total population of about 190 people.

The system included a spring capture box, break pressure tanks, a 10 cubic meter (2,600 gallons) storage / distribution tank located just above the village and a main gravity-flow transport line measuring four kilometers (2.5 miles). An additional piping system distributed water from the storage tank to household faucets installed at each individual home site.

The Caton Vi’qola Project was a gravity-flow water supply and distribution system for the rural village of Caton Vi’qola, in the Department of El Quiche, Guatemala and located about nine kilometers (5.5 miles) northeast of the city of Nebaj in the Cuchumantane Mountains of the Guatemalan Central Highlands.

There are 22 families living in the village with a total population of about 110 people. The system included a spring capture box, break pressure tanks, a 5 cubic meter (1,300 gallons) storage / distribution tank located just above the village and a main gravity-flow transport line measuring 1.6 kilometers (1 mile). An additional piping system distributed water from the storage tank to household faucets installed at each individual home site.

The San Francisco Javier Project was a gravity-flow water supply and distribution system for the rural village of San Francisco Javier, located in the Department of El Quiche, Guatemala. The village is located 30 kilometers northwest of Nebaj, in the Cuchumantane Mountains of the Guatemalan Central Highlands.

There are 60 families living in the village with a total population of about 300 people. The system included a spring capture box, break pressure tanks, two 5 cubic meter (each 1,300 gallonsl) storage / distribution tank located just above the village and a main gravity-flow transport line measuring four kilometers (2.5 miles). An additional piping system distributed water from the storage tank to household faucets installed at each individual home site.