|
|
The water contamination problem in the Sacramento area is not getting any better but worse. Not only is water contamination bad for us humans, but it is hurting our aquatic life too. A study has been conducted to determine how bad the water quality is in the Sacramento River, and when the poor the water quality began. The result was the water quality in the river was bad enough to kill off an entire species, and that the poor water quality started way back when the first gold miners came in 1849. The residue left behind from the mines helped pollute the water by never being able to evaporate. Now, the water quality has gotten a lot better with the help of environmental activists. Introduction Water has always been issue in California. For years, there is a constant battle about the distribution of water because of the water shortages in the South. The issue will never be resolve, but there is another issue at large, and it is water contamination. The Sacramento River is one of the biggest river dams that provide water for Northern California. Unfortunately, the water quality in the Sacramento River is not good. Its water pollution problems are not getting any better but worse. For years, scientists have wanted to know what the causes of the contamination in our water are so that they would know how to treat the problem and not let it become a health hazard to the public. Water contamination is not only bad for its two million plus consumers, but it is also affecting the wildlife. The destruction of the marine wildlife has turned many heads, and its attention to this matter has been undivided. The current problems with our water resources are that it is destroying the marine wildlife, and it is contaminated, but there have been many precautions that have been taken into consideration when dealing with the water in our area. How Contamination Begins Contamination is caused by many different factors. Pollution or contamination does not necessarily means that it is caused by toxic waste, but rather it can be caused by other factors. In the Journal of Geochemical Exploration, the researcher, Joseph L. Domagalski, found that “In previous years, the concentrations of pesticides used on rice were sufficiently high to affect the health of aquatic life in streams draining the rice growing areas and to contribute to taste and odor problems for treated drinking water withdrawn from the lower Sacramento River” (Domagalski 271). One of the ways that contamination is caused as explained by the author is that it is derived from agricultural waste. Any kind of wastes are harmful all together. Once the wastes are in our water, it affects our drinking water quality as well as the water quality for the aquatic life. The reason that pesticides are so hazardous is because it eventually produces Phosphorus in our water (Domagalski 273). Phosphorus causes plants from not growing and even aquatic life from reproducing. Any element is a health hazard to human altogether, but it may causes brain damage in infants if in our water, and it may causes nutrient (iron, protein, etc.) deficiency in our body.
|
