The Rise of Impurities

TimeWatch Editorial
March 29, 2016

Recently, the condition of the water supply in Flint Michigan has become a matter of concern. The health of the population in Flint has been directly affected because of the apparent political ineptitude of those who should have responded to the initial signs of the problem. Regardless of the reason for this lack of action, it now would appear that such a problem was more or less inevitable. The lead that is seeping into the water has not been added by some nefarious means but has occurred simply because of the deterioration of previously functional lead pipes. Over time, the continuous interaction of elements surrounding the pipes will cause deterioration.

“Pipes used to distribute drinking water are made of plastic, concrete, or metal (e.g., steel, galvanized steel, ductile iron, copper, or aluminum). Plastic and concrete pipes tend to be resistant to corrosion. Metal pipe corrosion is a continuous and variable process of ion release from the pipe into the water. Under certain environmental conditions, metal pipes can become corroded based on the properties of the pipe, the soil surrounding the pipe, the water properties, and stray electric currents. When metal pipe corrosion occurs, it is a result of the electrochemical electron exchange resulting from the differential galvanic properties between metals, the ionic influences of solutions.” “Fluoridation of Drinking Water and Corrosion of Pipes in Distribution Systems Fact Sheet” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Website

This then will be a widespread problem, surfacing only when actual tests are run. In fact some tests have already revealed the presence of lead, however in some cases it has been argued that the percentages found are at acceptable levels. In other places, chemicals are being added to prevent the lead pipes from corroding.

In Sebring, Ohio, routine laboratory tests last August found unsafe levels of lead in the town’s drinking water after workers stopped adding a chemical to keep lead water pipes from corroding. Five months passed before the city told pregnant women and children not to drink the water, and shut down taps and fountains in schools. In 2001, after Washington, D.C., changed how it disinfected drinking water, lead in tap water at thousands of homes spiked as much as 20 times the federally approved level. Residents did not find out for three years. When they did, officials ripped out lead water pipes feeding 17,600 homes. Michael Wines and John Schwartz , Feb. 8, 2016, “Unsafe Lead Levels in Tap Water Not Limited to Flint”.

But this problem is not the only existing threat to the safety of the community. Listen to Martha Rosenberg, of the Organic Consumers Association in her article entitled: “ Drugs in the Drinking Water? Don't Ask and Officials Won't Tell” published March 21, 2016 on the Truthout Website.

“The lead crisis in Flint, Mich. has drawn national attention to deadly and often underreported risks in the public water supply. Thanks to the chemical, agricultural and pharmaceutical industries, and antiquated water systems, Americans are imbibing a witch's brew of drugs and chemicals often without realizing it. These contaminants get into the water through human drug waste in sewage, medicines flushed down toilets, agricultural runoff and the wide use of endocrine disruptors like pesticides, flame retardants and plastic-related compounds like phthalates and BPA.” Martha Rosenberg, “Drugs in the Drinking Water? Don't Ask and Officials Won't Tell” published March 21, 2016

When we come to matter of pharmaceuticals in the water supply, the drug industry and those in charge of water treatment say that the traces that have been found are so small they more than likely pose little public health risk. However, there are really no tests to support their expressed opinion, which means that a future problem will arise, much larger than anything we are now experiencing.

“The sheer number of Americans taking drugs is one reason drugs in the water are a problem -- 60 percent of Americans now take prescription drugs. Direct-to-consumer drug (DTC) advertising has convinced millions of Americans to take statins, acid reflux medicines and assorted psychoactive medicines. Before DTC ads, the drugs were not nearly as popular. CNN reports that an astounding one fourth of US women are now on antidepressants. "There's no doubt about it, pharmaceuticals are being detected in the environment and there is genuine concern that these compounds, in the small concentrations that they're at, could be causing impacts to human health or to aquatic organisms," noted Mary Buzby, director of environmental technology for Merck.” Martha Rosenberg, “Drugs in the Drinking Water? Don't Ask and Officials Won't Tell” published March 21, 2016

Slowly we see the deterioration of infrastructure, the creeping failure of moral standing, the degrading of all elements of society. The solutions are beyond our ability to implement because of the overlapping of the superstructure. We will have to now depend upon a power that is beyond our own. Our prayer must be as is quoted in Psalms 57 and verse 1: 

Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.

Cameron A. Bowen