When you’re brushing your teeth and rinsing your mouth out with water, do you really think of what’s inside the water you’re putting into your body? We assume that water is safe and clean, but is it really?  

In Flint, Michigan, two years ago, the state decided to switch their water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River to save money during a financial state of emergency for the struggling industrial town. The Flint River, which runs through the town, is widely known for its filthy water. Soon after they switched, the water locals stated that the smell and taste was funny and often said it looked dirty. The state Department of Environmental Quality wasn’t treating the water, which is in violation of federal law.

Could this happen in Bowling Green?

Water Pollution is a contamination of water bodies, oceans, rivers, lakes, etc., and causes problems for animals and people on earth. We are surrounded by water and if it’s all polluted with bad things like industrial chemicals, sewage, and oil that spews up problems with our drinking water. No animal and no human can survive without it; our species will go extinct if we don’t do something or speak up about it now.

What is our water being polluted by? Firstly, sewage, which is waste water inside sewers. Sewage contains feces, urine, and laundry waste. When sewer lines break open for any reason, all of the sewage is let out in the open. The result would be that the water we drink and use to clean ourselves could be flooded with chemicals that cause diseases like cholera.

Secondly, industrial chemicals can pollute water. Industrial chemicals are chemical compounds that have been manufactured, transported and used throughout the world. Industrial chemicals are usually inorganic materials such as acids, compound of toxic metals, and salts. As a result, it can make the freshwater that we use for drinking and showering unuseable. It can damage our livers and kidneys when we drink the unsafe water. Also, it can harm fish or any other animals that live in the body of water that now contains the chemicals.

Lastly, oil spills are also responsible for pollution. Oil spills happen when liquid petroleum is released into the environment by either a vehicle or a pipeline itself. Oil is a viscous liquid from petroleum, especially used as a fuel or lubricant, and it is a very toxic substance. This is due to human neglect of the effects oil has on our environment.

Cleaning up oil can take a very long time, from a couple of months to a couple of years depending on how bad the oil spill is. In the United States, the U.S. Coast Guard or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have to take charge and respond to the oil spill as quickly as possible to save animals and plants that could have been harmed. Oil floats on top of the water and prevents any sunlight from passing through not allowing sea animals and plants that need sunlight that are under that body of water to survive.

The effects of oil spills can also simply choke animals to death, and others that live through it can have many problems in the future because of oil. For example, with a duck, the oil will make its way through its fur, and covering the animal up and clogging its pores and is unable to respirate. Also, the animals can mistake the oil for water and drink it, dying due to the toxic effects the oil has.

Over all, water pollution is such an important topic because water is something we need to have to survive. Cleaning up bodies of water does cost money, but in a long run it is worth it.