By RosAnna Noval, RCAC Rural Development Specialist – Environmental

Water cycle basics are easy to understand. Rain falls from the sky and makes its way to lakes, rivers and oceans. Water in lakes, rivers and oceans evaporates and rises back into the clouds, only to fall as rain somewhere else on the planet. However, this is only part of the cycle.

People’s need for water adds a few extra steps. The average American uses between 80 and 100 gallons of water per day for everything from bathing to drinking to flushing the toilet. Let’s examine where drinking water comes from, where it goes when we are done using it and what it carries along the way.

In the United States, underground aquifers, natural springs, creeks, lakes and rivers are used for drinking water. Most of these waters serve multiple purposes and may also be used for boating, fishing, swimming and more. The quality of source water affects how water tastes, smells and feels, as well as how safe it is for human consumption. High quality source water is often less costly to treat and used as drinking water. Protecting source water from pollution helps to protect drinking water.

Safe, reliable drinking water doesn’t magically appear at the tap in the kitchen. When a community water utility serves homes, the water is pulled from the source water, undergoes treatment and flows through a vast array of expensive pumps and underground pipes, sometimes traveling miles, before arriving at a kitchen tap. Homes relying on an individual well or other private sources may treat their water, but not always, before it reaches the faucet.

Used water and everything else that goes down a sink drain or toilet becomes sewage. Sewage, or wastewater, must be cleaned before it is released back into the ground or waterways. In homes connected to a sewer utility, another set of expensive pumps and underground pipes carries wastewater to a treatment plant. There the wastewater goes through a series of processes to remove trash, solids, bacteria, nitrogen and other compounds. Once the water is sufficiently cleaned, it flows to a river, a creek, a lake, the ground or into the ocean. Treated water leaving the plant, or effluent, contains any chemicals that were not removed during the treatment process. If a home is connected to a septic tank or onsite system, the wastewater receives minimal treatment before flowing into the ground on the homeowner’s property.

Humans add an extra loop to the water cycle as water moves from source waters, to drinking water treatment plants, to homes and people, to wastewater treatment plants, and back to lakes, rivers, and the ocean. This extra cycle can happen multiple times as water travels down a river to the ocean. According to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), there are 62 permitted locations where effluent discharges into a river upstream of drinking water intakes in Oregon.

The old adage, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” holds true for water quality. Technology improves every day, providing many options for producing safe drinking water and treating wastewater. Unfortunately, that technology can be expensive to install and maintain. For some chemicals and pollutants, there is not a technology currently available to test for or remove these chemicals during the treatment processes. Pharmaceuticals (prescription and non-prescription drugs) are a good example of chemicals that can be difficult to detect and remove. In many cases, reduction and prevention of pollutants remains the most cost effective and reliable way to improve the quality of drinking water.

Many steps are being taken to reduce toxic substances and pollutants in Oregon, including identifying, monitoring and targeting specific pollutants. According to a June 2010 DEQ Legislative Report, persistent pollutants are “those that come from a wide variety of sources but linger in the environment and have a documented effect on human health, wildlife and aquatic habitat.” DEQ’s list of priority persistent pollutants includes chemicals found in pesticides, personal care products (cosmetics, soaps, etc.), flame retardants, insecticides and more. Recent studies by the United States Geological Survey and others report these or similar chemicals are being detected in water bodies across the nation.

Everyone can help prevent and reduce persistent pollutants in the environment and drinking water sources. These easy steps can help you get started.

Reduce the source of pollutants by choosing safer alternatives when you shop.

Dispose of unused medication at a drug-take back event. Never flush them down the toilet.

Take unwanted household cleaners, paints, pesticides and other hazardous waste to a collection event or other approved disposal site.

For septic tank users, inspect and maintain your system regularly.

Reducing the persistent pollutants in the environment is an important step to protect the quality of water that eventually someone, somewhere will use as drinking water.

Additional resources and information on pollutant reduction and drinking water protection can be found at:

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality Toxics Reduction Strategy and Drinking Water Program www.deq.state.or.us/programs.htm

Oregon Health Authority Drinking Water Program http://public.health.oregon.gov/healthyenvironments/drinkingwater/pages/index.aspx

“Water We Drink Campaign” at the National Environmental Services Center www.nesc.wvu.edu/waterwedrink/

Rural Community Assistance Corporation www.rcac.org
Rural Community Assistance Partnership www.rcap.org

This article is supported by a grant from the Office of Community Services at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and produced as a part of the RCAP Safety and Security Project.