3. Clean water is absolutely fundamental to good health. The amount of water in the human body
is amazing! Water makes up over 70% of our overall body and 75% of our brain, 80% of our
blood, and 96% of our liver. It is involved in nearly every aspect of our health, and drinking
adequate amounts of clean water each day is essential. Deficits can have serious effects. A 5%
decrease in bodily fluids can cause a 25-30% loss of energy in the average person, and a 15%
decrease in fluids can cause death.
Water helps to regulate many processes, including salt balance, absorption of nutrients, and
detoxification. It is used by the nervous system to help transmit signals to every cell in the body.
If the nerves thicken due to dehydration or contamination with toxic heavy metals like lead or
synthetic chemicals, for example, vital nerve signals can get distorted. Some experts now believe
that this may be the root cause of some degenerative diseases and neurological disorders like
attention deficit disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome, anxiety, and depression. Not only nerves
are affected! The liver uses water to help flush toxins from our body. This detoxification system
is a very important component of long-term health. Unfortunately, our bodies are exposed to
toxins from an unbelievable amount of sources daily, including air, food, and products we
contact that contain trace amounts of contaminants. The liver has the job of cleansing these
particles from our body and the more (clean!) water we drink, the easier it is to detoxify. Water
helps the body to purify itself.

4. It’s not just the water we drink that is important, but also water that we are exposed to
through bathing, cooking, and recreational activities like swimming or fishing. These
exposures too can affect our health. When the streams are polluted, fish and wildlife that
rely on those water systems are also injured and this can negatively affect us in the long
run. Can you remember when it was safe to eat the fish you caught? What about the days
when the first “bottled water” came out on the market? In case you haven’t noticed, today
things have changed. Across the globe, access to clean water has become a major health
issue.
When problems are on such a grand scale, we often think “what can I possibly do to help?”
So what can the average homeowner do to help the quality of their water and to prevent
water pollution into nearby aquatic systems? Surprisingly, there are many small ways that
we can help and, thankfully, for the environment, these become big ways when many of us
participate.
First of all, it is relatively easy and inexpensive to have your drinking water tested. This is
especially important if you have well water. Ground water can become contaminated from
many surface pollution sources. If the problem is minor, the water can be treated or
filtered, but this pollution can occasionally be severe and require professional assistance. If
you are on a public system, the water is probably chlorinated to disinfect it. Chlorine is a
transient additive that is easily dissipated when the water stands for some time. If your
water smells like chlorine, let it settle first or buy bottled water instead. Eliminate sources
of fecal contamination by making sure that household septic systems are functioning
properly and not leaking into your water supply. If you suspect your water is bad, send
away for a water test and get advice about methods to filter, distill, or cleanse your water.

5. Poison-proof your environment. Eliminate possible household pollution sources. Don’t
use the toilet or sink to dispose of medicines, especially antibiotics or birth control
pills. Use absorptive cleanup materials for all oil spills. Properly dispose of the
following products at designated hazardous material collection sites, one of which
occurs annually at the Huntingdon County Fairgrounds: old pesticides and herbicides,
paints and thinners, refrigerators, air conditioners, batteries, petroleum products and
antifreeze, and unused cleaning solutions.
Help buffer local waterways by planting along stream edges with native plants and by
landscaping or seeding barren areas of your property that might be sediment sources
in storms. Don’t use excessive amounts of fertilizers on your lawns or gardens. These
add abnormal levels of nutrients to waterways that can ultimately kill the fish.
Support local cleanup organizations, especially those like PA Cleanways and the
Juniata Clean Water Partnership (JCWP) that help rid our landscapes of dumps that
represent a major source of pollution for waterways. When I asked Thomas Komir, the
new Educational Outreach Coordinator at JCWP (AmeriCorps member), how he felt
about the water resources in our area, he stated that our waterways represent a major
source of recreation in Huntingdon and that people really want to help keep streams
clean. Their annual sojourn via watercraft down one of the seven branches in the
Juniata watershed, attracts between 40-80 people per day for six straight days! These
waterways feed into the Susquehanna River at Duncannon and then into the
Chesapeake Bay system. The serious Chesapeake Bay pollution cleanup over the
past 20 years impressively demonstrates what people can do when they collectively
care about something.

6. Fresh water is one of our most vital resources,
and when our water is polluted it is not only
devastating to the environment, but also to
human health. The US relies on public water
systems to treat and deliver just over 44 billion
gallons of clean water each day to our homes,
schools and businesses. Much of that water
comes from rivers, lakes and other surface water
sources. Before it is delivered to our homes it is
treated to remove chemicals, particulates (e.g.,
soot and silt) and bacteria. This clean, potable
water is then used for cooking, drinking, cleaning,
bathing, watering our lawns and so forth.

8. Even though our local and federal governments make large investments each
year to keep our water clean and safe, our water systems still do not receive
the amount of funding needed to keep them working properly. A 2007 EPA
survey found that water and wastewater infrastructure projects across the
country will need a total of $334.8 billion for the 20-year period from
January 2007 through December 2027. Unfortunately, during fiscal year
2012, allotments from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund G totaled only
$1.5 billion for all states. As a result of underfunding, much of our aging
infrastructure either doesn’t work properly or is in need of upgrades, all
while strained by a growing population, economic development and climate
change variability.
One result of underfunding water infrastructure is massive water main
breaks. For example, in 2010, a massive main break in Boston led to an order
for the public to boil water that affected 2 million people. According to a
2012 report by The American Water Works Association, restoring, replacing
and expanding our existing water systems to accommodate a growing
population will cost at least $1 trillion over the next 25 years, if we expect to
simply tread water and maintain current levels of service.

10. WATER
POLLUTION
Water pollution refers
to the presence of
harmful material into
water. Pollution
makes water unsafe
for drinking, washing,
cooking and many
other activities.
Sometimes it is so
much polluted that it
is unfit even for
irrigation.

13. Causes Of water
pollution
 Untreated sewage
 Release of Industrial
waste
 Excessive Use of
chemical fertilizers and
pesticides
 Marine water
contamination
 Hot water
 Oxygen –demanding
waste
 Eutrophication
 Groundwater
contamination

14. Control of water pollution
 Sewage water should be treated before being released into
water bodies. The sediment called sludge deposited at the
bottom of the treatment tanks van be converted into organic
manure.
 Chemical waste released by factories should be treated before
releasing into rivers.
 Throwing of dead bodies of animals in water bodies should
be prohibited.
 Agricultural chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides should
be used judiciously so that their run offs do not contaminate
water bodies.
 Awareness must be created amongst masses about the
importance of clean water.

15. Effects of
water
pollution
 Polluted water can
cause serious waterborne
Diseases like cholera,
jaundice and dysentery.
 It destroys plants and
animals.
 It leads to abnormal
growth of plants.
 Pesticides such as DDT
can get into the bodies of
fishes through the water.
Animals and humans,
receive poisonous
substances if they eat
these contaminated fishes.

16. Water use can mean the amount
of water used by a household or a
country, or the amount used for a
given task or for the production of
a given quantity of some product
or crop. The term "water
footprint" is often used to refer to
the amount of water used by an
individual, community, business,
or nation.
World water use has been
growing rapidly in the last
hundred years (see graph from
New Scientist From 1900 to 2000,
water use for agriculture went
from about 500 to 2,500 cubic
kilometers per year, while total
use rose from around 600 to
more than 3,000 cubic kilometers
per year. Agriculture uses 70% of
water resources.

17. There are many, many ways that
we use our water,
Seattle Locks
Photo courtesy of US Army Corps
of Engineers and that is partly
why it is so important that we
conserve our water. Water is our
most precious resource. Water is
vital to life. Humans, plants, and
animals are made up of mostly
water. All living things would die if
it weren't for water. We use water
for drinking, washing, cleaning,
cooking, and growing our food as
well as many, many other things.
The average American uses
around 150-250 gallons of water
daily. Even more water is used by
industries to generate electricity,
manufacture things, and
transport people and goods.

18. Hydroelectric plants are the
largest users of water.
Hydroelectric Dam
Photo courtesy of Art Today
Hydroelectric plants capture the
kinetic energy of falling water to
make electricity. They do this with
a dam. The dam forces the water
level to go up so that the water
will have more power when
falling. The force of the falling
water pressing against the
turbines' blades cause them to
spin. The spinning turbines
transmit the kinetic energy of the
falling water to generators. The
generators spin when the
turbines spin generating
electricity that will be transmitted
on the power lines to homes and
businesses.