Sewage overflows into groundwater are making too many people ill

Intakes for drinking water are not sufficiently shielded. Sewage spillages as the result of flooding or  ruptures in ageing pipe networks present a serious challenge to water purification plants.

And climate change is not helping any. For example, in the summer of 2004, 1,450 people reported being ill in a resort community in northern Ohio with campylobacter, norovirus, giardia and salmonella. That summer was marked by rainfall that was 150 percent above the 50-year average.

 Joan Rose, Michigan State University ’s Nowlin Chair in water research, told the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting Friday. Her talk, “Drinking Water and Health: Forecasting Pathogen Risks in the Great Lakes,” focused on ways to identify health threats before an outbreak.

 Read more in the Water Online article

Water, energy and climate are intricately connected with social systems

Pure Drinking Water recommends this audio feed from Global Public Media.

People seem to underestimate how water is a finite resource and especially fresh water is needed and is affected by our current mad dash for continuous economic expansion. 

This week’s guest on the Reality Report is Dr. Peter Gleick, President and co-founder of the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security, based in Oakland, CA. The show discusses how water is intricately connected to energy, climate and social systems, how changes in one part ripple through others.

Jason Bradford hosts The Reality Report, broadcast on KZYX&Z in Mendocino County, CA.

 Click here to go to GLOBAL PUBLIC MEDIA