Water Quality Report and Key Issues: Green Valley
Write a 750-1,000-word essay about water quality in your community that addresses the following points:
Obtain a water quality report from your local municipality within the last two years and discuss what you found in the report.
Identify a water quality issue happening in your community and where the pollution comes from. This includes point sources (for example, water discharge from a factory; contamination from a Superfund site), non-point sources (for example, agricultural runoff), and natural sources.
Describe how the pollution source is impacting the environment and human health in your community, and provide two examples of each.
Identify three management practices to minimize water pollution.
Remember to support your data and information with appropriate citations. A minimum of five peer-reviewed references must be included.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
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Water Quality
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Water Quality Report and Key Issues
The 2022 water quality report for the community water company of Green Valley was considered for this analysis. The company incorporates nineteen employees who work on a full-time basis to supply and deliver reliable and safe drinking water to approximately 23,000 individuals (Community Water Company of Green Valley, 2022). The primary water source for the company is a groundwater source, the Tucson Basin Aquifer, which also supplies Green Valley regions and the surrounding localities. Water chlorination is done before distribution to the consumers to protect them against bacterial contamination. The report implies that the water meant for human consumption and utilization within the region adheres to the regulations set by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This guarantees the safety of the water for domestic use and human drinking. In addition, The Food and Drug Administration regulations promote public health by limiting contaminants in bottled drinking water.
The report implies that all drinking water sources are vulnerable to contamination by both human and naturally existing substances, including inorganic chemicals such as fertilizers, radioactive substances, and microbes. However, despite the report's positive outcomes, there was a notable concern involving increased phosphorus and nitrogen nutrients in the sourced water. The inorganic fertilizers rich in Nitrogen and Phosphorus nutrients and other radioactive materials dissolve in water as it flows over the surface, thus contaminating it. The other contaminants the water may contain include industrial wastes, soil microbes, minerals, salts, herbicides, pesticides, and radioactive substances (Zahoor & Mushtaq, 2023). The report implies that the nutrients' presence in the water sources results from runoff from close farms since Green Valley is a farming and agricultural region (Community Water Company of Green Valley, 2022). Proactive management approaches should thus be implemented to combat long-term detrimental ecological outcomes.
Water Quality Issues and Pollution Sources
As indicated in the report, one of the primary water quality concerns in the Green Valley community entails nutrient pollution, with agricultural practices contributing to the identified issue. For instance, agricultural runoff incorporating phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizers forms the pollution's fundamental cause. The runoff takes place in incidences of irrigation or rains, which carry water carrying excessive fertilizers from the farm fields into available water bodies (Xia et al., 2020). The Green Valley's land topography encourages easy water flow from farms into rivers and streams. The runoff rich in phosphorus and nitrogen nutrients enters the water systems, thus creating nutrient concentration imbalances necessary for a healthy and conducive environment. There is a need to implement and embrace a collaborative strategy incorporating the local community, regulatory organizations, and farmers to establish sustainable and applicable agricultural activities (Community Water Company of Green Valley, 2022).
Impacts on Human Health and The Environment
The issue harms human health, including compromising drinking water quality. Green Valley embraces water treatment approaches to provide safe drinking water. However, continuous incorporation of high nutrient concentrations may affect the water's odor and taste (Ashitha et al., 2021). De...