What is Pollution

Industry places a staggering demand on the nation's water resources. It uses water in scores of ways-as a solvent, a coolant, a washing agent, an ingredient, a means of transportation, etc. The amounts of water used sound fantastic. For example, it takes 200 gallons of water to produce a dollar? Worth of paper; 1400 gallons to make a dollar's worth of steel. Talking in tons, it takes 320,000 gallons of water to produce a ton of aluminum; 600,000 gallons for a ton of synthetic rubber.

We have been discussing the specialized problems in the United States; but we should point out that most of the world's population use water supplies that are unsafe and insufficient in quantity, dispose of excreta and waste dangerously, and commit many other sanitary errors. The water pollution hazard is illustrated in a number of South American countries, where diarrheal diseases remain the leading cause of death in children from ages 1 to 4. We have an interesting example of the efforts made in one water-poor South American city of population 350,000, Arequipa, Peru, to improve the quantity and quality of the water supply and thus reduce gastrointestinal disease rates. An intelligent plan to pipe pure water to houses was set up, but it met resistance expressed in such phrases as 'Water is a gift from God. Why do we have to pay?" "We prefer river water; it is sweeter." "How can we wash if water is more expensive?"

How Can We Control Water Pollution?

Unless the United States takes positive steps to control its increasing water pollution problem, it may find itself running out of safe, high quality water for essential needs-personal, agricultural, industrial. The attack on the water-pollution problem must be threefold: (1) construction of more first-class water and sewage treatment facilities, an expensive order; (2) enforcement of laws against practices that create pollution; and (3) development of research procedures which will find ways to remove the new pollutants and better ways to get rid of the old contaminants.

The best of modern sewage treatment plants provide a primary treatment, in which solids are given a chance to settle out, and a secondary treatment that depends on bacteriological action. This treatment removes only 75% to 90% of organic wastes, a smaller fraction of dissolved mineral solids, very little of the chemically new wastes. The U.S. Public Health Service is therefore encouraging advanced waste treatment research, through which it is hoped that the conversion of waste water to fresh water may be genuinely achieved. In 1964 the Manufacturing Chemists Association undertook a research project to determine the behavior of organic chemicals in streams, lakes, and rivers. Among the new techniques for water purification under study, some of which may turn out to offer practical solutions to the water pollution problem, are absorption by carbon or other absorptive filter, distillation, foaming, freezing, ion exchange, solvent extraction, electrodialysis, and even electrolysis.

The individual can do relatively little, outside of obeying the laws against water pollution, to reduce this hazard of which he himself may fall victim. He can as a citizen, however, raise a loud voice to encourage industry, voluntary agencies, and government agencies at all levels to do their jobs in controlling water pollution.

One obvious fact bearing on the United States water pollution problem is the condition of its municipal and other sewage facilities. These are not in such good condition as might have been hoped. In May 1962, the Conference of State Sanitary Engineers reported that 5290 communities, serving 43 million people, about one-fourth of the nation's population, required new sewage treatment plants, plant enlargements, or additional and more effective treatment facilities. The cost of meeting this need was calculated at about $2.1 billion; and it was further estimated that needed new sewage works for industry would be of the same order of cost