Tag Archives: Flint water crisis

Environment, Sustainability

Is it Time to Consider Rainwater Collection as a Viable Water Source?

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biohazard-295141_640Why should rainwater collection be considered as a viable water source?

When public water supplies become damaged or compromised, especially due to human error, we must consider other viable options.

Over the last year we all have read articles about contamination of public water sources. The most recent in Flint Michigan has alarmed the nation. Old pipes in the infrastructure leached lead into the supply system caused by corrosive water when emergency managers switched water from Lake Harrow to the Flint River, affecting more than 1,000,000 people.

animas-river-pollutionIn August 2015, an estimated 3 million gallons of mine waste was released into a tributary, which flows into the Animas River near Durango Colorado. The mustard colored sludge contained high levels of arsenic, lead, and cadmium making the river and nearby wells unsafe for humans.

In April 2015, the nation’s largest electrical company Duke Energy was found guilty of contaminating nearby wells with heavy metals such as vanadium and chromium. Local streams and lakes were also affected from contaminants from Duke’s Coal ash pits.

Collecting rain makes sense. Whether you collect it in rain barrels or your storage needs require larger cisterns, rainwater collection and use has a host of benefits.

(c) Andrew Suryono, Indonesia, Entry, Nature and Wildlife Category, Open Competition, 2015 Sony World Photography AwardsHere are two main reasons why you should change your way of thinking about rainwater collection:

  • Rainwater can be a clean, safe, reliable source of potable and non-potable water
  • Rainwater is relatively clean to begin with and if collected, conveyed, stored, filtered and disinfected properly, it can meet the needs of small scale watering to whole house potable use
Rainwater Catchment

Poisoned Water in Flint Michigan is Unsafe

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Residents of Flint lined up on Friday to get cases of bottled water distributed by members of the Michigan National Guard. Credit Brittany Greeson for The New York Times
Residents of Flint lined up on Friday to get cases of bottled water distributed by members of the Michigan National Guard. Credit Brittany Greeson for The New York Times

Let it be clear that the team at RainBank does not embrace a scare tactic or doomsday philosophy. We wholeheartedly embrace the principle that safe, clean water is a basic human right. The poisoned public water situation in Flint, Michigan is outrageous – deplorable and unconscionable.

The Washington Post has compiled a timeline of this water crisis. Click here to view.

As reported in the New York Times, the city of Flint, MI, was in a state of receivership from 2011 to 2015. This means the city had its finances controlled by a string of four emergency managers. One of these administrators tried to save money by drawing water from the Flint River.

In doing so, the public water system became poisonous. Folks immediately reported that the color, odor and taste of the water was bad and bacterial contamination was found. However, chemicals used to disinfect the water caused a different kind of contamination, but state officials contended that the water was safe. [Editor’s note – ARE YOU KIDDING ME?]

Exemplary pictures looking into Flint drinking water pipes, showing different kinds of iron corrosion and rust (Photo: Min Tang and Kelsey Pieper) http://flintwaterstudy.org/tag/drinking-water/
Exemplary pictures looking into Flint drinking water pipes, showing different kinds of iron corrosion and rust (Photo: Min Tang and Kelsey Pieper) http://flintwaterstudy.org/tag/drinking-water/

So, even though they now have a safe water supply, the Flint River water was so corrosive, it had caused lead to leach from the pipes. The NY Times article further reports “…it is unclear how long the leaching will continue. Flint is a member of a regional water authority that is building a new pipeline to bring water from Lake Huron, which should be operational later this year.”

The entire incident is being investigated by the Michigan Attorney General’s office and the National Guard has begun distributing bottled water, filters and testing kits to residents.

Adults and children were poisoned by this blatant and alarming disregard for the basic human right to access safe, clean water from a public water system. While authorities have begun the process to right the wrong, it will probably take tens of years to deal with the harm that was inflicted on the folks who trusted that their water was safe.