{"id":116035,"date":"2022-10-24T09:00:03","date_gmt":"2022-10-24T13:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/?p=116035"},"modified":"2022-11-08T18:07:07","modified_gmt":"2022-11-08T23:07:07","slug":"water-contamination-how-citizens-can-improve-water-quality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/water-contamination-how-citizens-can-improve-water-quality\/","title":{"rendered":"Water Contamination- How Citizens Can Improve Water Quality"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By Samhar Almomani, Publishing Associate<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Researcher and Writer<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at Save the Water\u2122 | October 24, 2022\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many people feel helpless when it comes to advocating for positive change. There are big issues to resolve, such as water contamination. People may feel like no matter how much they ask for cleaner water, the issue is out of their control.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/citizen-science-and-watersheds\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">there are many examples of people\u2019s advocacy for their own well-being for major change.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Such events should inspire us to work towards a healthier future.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 600;\">The Story of the Short Beach Neighborhood in Branford, Connecticut\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Long Island Sound, an island group in the United States that includes the Short Beach neighborhood, has suffered from <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/longislandsoundstudy.net\/about\/our-mission\/management-plan\/pathogen-contamination\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fecal contamination in the water<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for many years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/fact-sheets\/detail\/drinking-water\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">many negative health effects<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> due to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/water-pathogens-serial-killer-water-contamination\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fecal contamination of water<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Increased spread of diseases, such as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/healthywater\/drinking\/contamination.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">cholera, polio, and hepatitis A<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Malnutrition and dehydration due to diarrhea\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Loss of money due to the time spent on accessing clean water<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Insects that spread disease may reproduce in fecal water and spread disease to clean water containers\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Short Beach neighborhood had been experiencing high rates of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Escherichia coli <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">bacteria. The suspected cause was a the sewage system breach into the stormwater.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A team of students and faculty members from Yale University wanted to work with the local health department to map local sewage systems. A clear map with these locations would allow them to assess the possible sources of contamination.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 600;\">The Power of Citizens to Push for Change<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The local health department and students from Yale University recruited eight citizen science volunteers. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pubs.usgs.gov\/twri\/twri9a4\/twri9a4_Chap4_v2.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The volunteers were given\u00a0 written protocol.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The laboratory was able to measure the levels of bacterial contamination.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The department and students used volunteers to foster an engaged relationship between academic researchers, local governments,health departments, and neighborhood residents. This is a way to ensure long-term cooperation that results in sustainability. It can prevent the problem from coming back in the community after the researchers have left.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An important aspect of this project was that the community was still involved even after the sampling of the water. Attendees from the neighborhood discussed the results of the water contamination levels at Civic Association meetings. They were able to give their input on recommended policies for improving the local water quality.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 600;\">Sustainable Projects in the Future<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The transparency of the researchers and the involvement of neighborhood residents helped the project become sustainable. The people living in the area are actively involved in ensuring a clean source of water.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Strong engagement of citizens in their own health is a great method that will save resources. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/theoryandpractice.citizenscienceassociation.org\/article\/10.5334\/cstp.114\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Volunteers need to see that their contributions are heard<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This means that communication is necessary in these projects in order to engage the volunteers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fecal contamination rates of all water sources went above<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/portal.ct.gov\/-\/media\/Departments-and-Agencies\/DPH\/dph\/environmental_health\/recreation\/pdf\/030316GuidelinesforMonitoringSwimmingWaterpdf.pdf?la=en\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the Connecticut Department of Public Health guidelines<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. With this knowledge, the state will be able to intervene and ensure clean water. This successful story should be an inspiration to citizens everywhere. It shows that they can make a difference in their communities by volunteering and engaging in making their neighborhoods better.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><br style=\"font-weight: 400;\" \/><br style=\"font-weight: 400;\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Samhar Almomani, Publishing Associate: Researcher and Writer at Save the Water\u2122 | October 24, 2022\u00a0 Many&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12901,"featured_media":116036,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,65],"tags":[133,179,197,226,228,233,549,562],"yst_prominent_words":[613,637,622,2087,612,614],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116035"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12901"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116035"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116035\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116237,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116035\/revisions\/116237"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116035"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=116035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}