We Want Clean Water, So Should You

The public health issues associated with water typically focus on drinking water. Clean freshwater is needed by humans for personal hygiene, irrigation, industry, and recreation. We bathe in it, brush our teeth with it, swim and fish in it, use it to make crops grow, and to cool industrial reactors. The water treatment facility is one of the facilities responsible for the treatment of water before distributing out to the community to avoid illness. As part of the treatment process, drinking water may be disinfected to reduce microbial contamination. Water is also used in the food industry to help nourish the plants and for the animals to drink which we eat from. Since the plants and animals that many humans and other animals eat also depend upon water, a lack of treated water could lead to starvation as well as dehydration. The Tampa Water Works Facility provides a well developed system where the water goes through many processes before distributing it to the community. We had the opportunity to take a private tour in the Tampa bay Water facility where we observed the precautions and processes that they must take to make sure the water is clean and disinfected.

We chose to place the “This is Public Health” sticker at the Tampa Water Works Facility because water is something we all need to live and in class we discussed the importance of clean water and how it is Public Health’s responsibility. Fortunately for us, one of our group member's dads conveniently works at the Tampa Water Works Facility, we then asked if it would be alright to stop by and he said it would be no problem. When we arrived he had us go through the security protocols which then we were treated with a tour of the water plant. He showed us where the river water first comes into the plant, with all the muck, and then explained where it gets shipped to the other treatment facility which is located down the road from the actual plant. That is where they actually filter it and send it back to the main plant where it comes back clear. The water is then treated with the various chemicals to sustain the water's cleanliness for us to drink.

BY: Nikole, Pranam, Noel and Brigitte