Analysis of The State of the Water
Luise Winslow is an aspiring Civil Engineering student at Boise State University. Born in Europe she now feels at home here in Boise, Idaho. She gets her fill of the outdoors through backpacking and camping and is an avid painter in her free time. Throughout her life, Luise has been surrounded by family and friends whose continuous influences drive Luise’s vision to utilize her Civil Engineering knowledge, along with the knowledge she gains from her connections, to do more for the world. Luise dreams of driving sustainable, economic, and intelligent design to communities in need. At Boise State University, Luise strives for academic excellence to gain the best chance of making those dreams a reality.
Analysis of The State of the Water
According to the American Society of Civil Engineers “The United States uses 42 billion gallons of water a day to support daily life from cooking and bathing in homes to use in factories and offices across the country” (1). The capacity and demand are seemingly endless and requires the constant maintenance and attention by the nations hydraulics engineers and political litigators. With the diversity of American climates, engineers and laborers have had to develop ingenious methods of distributing clean drinking water, to the drylands of California, the remote farms throughout the Midwest and the metropolis of New York and Texas. This has been no small feat and today we are faced with the job of maintaining the highest quality drinking water. Unfortunately, the shortcomings, including neglect and defunding, in this area were made explicit in the case of Flint, Michigan. The Flint water crisis took place in 2014 in Genesee County, Michigan. Authorities were obliged to switch their main water source to the Flint River for an interim time period. Soon after reports streamed in of elevated blood lead levels in children, implying heavy metal permeated drinking water. The crisis brought about immediate concern and research, into the causes of the crisis and the overall factors effecting the water distribution systems.
Numerous studies have been made analyzing the corrosion of water pipes and the quality of water. Experiments including those by Manjie Li et al., Huifang Sun et al. and Marc A. Edwards et al. Manjie et al. analyze how different pipe materials affect overall water quality, along with the structure and composition of iron corrosion scales as a dependent of pipe material. Huifang et al. develops an understanding of chemical risk factors with potential to heavy metal release from corrosion scales in pipes. While Edwards et al. went directly to the source of the Flint water crisis, investigating a private home within Flint, Michigan. Over a series of months Edwards et al. collected and analyzed water samples from the household water sources. Together, the scientifically dense articles collaborate in painting a picture of the multifaceted aspects of water quality control, factors that threaten water quality and potentials to improve the infrastructure. However, there is a pronounced contrast within research on the crisis. The analysis by Victoria Morckel, in which Morckel argues that urban planning and lack of foresight ultimately contributed to the Flint water crisis. Similarly, the article by Richard Casey Sadler describes how socioeconomic factors impacted the risk factors of Flint residents. Together the two provide a more emotional and anthropological angle to the concepts, in comparison to those provided by Manjie et al, Huifang et al. and Edwards et al. By synthesizing both the experimental with the sociological, a multidimensional understanding of the different factors that lead to the Flint water crisis can be developed, while different solutions and divergences in research are exposed.
Scientific Aspects
WDS Scales
Hydraulic infrastructure is a complex system that carries water throughout the United States. With its humble roots dating back to the monumental and iconic aqueducts, of ancient Rome, it’s not only a marvel, but an incredible privilege, to turn a faucet, in 21st century America, and receive an abundance of potable water, even in the driest or most remote regions. Our water flows through an intricate water distribution system (WDS). The WDS takes water from sources such as surface water, rivers and lakes, or ground water sources, such as aquifers, to cleaning and filtration sites. From these sites water is then allowed to run through the elaborate highway of pipes, to homes and businesses across the country. This massive system is generally buried beneath our feet, with some sections built decades ago (Edwards et al., 2007).
The enormous flow of water creates various issues for the water quality of potable water. Edwards et al. explains that water is a complex solution that contains a variety of chemicals and has several notable chemical properties (2007). Huifang et al. seems to agree revealing that relevant elements include iron, lead, phosphorous and sulfates among others while critical properties include pH levels, oxidation and temperature (70). These heavy metals and compounds are crucial to water quality but are paired with somewhat more familiar salts. Calcium deposits have long been a nuisance in the kitchen or shower. These same deposits form on the insides of WDS pipes, generally called scales. These scales are made of solid compounds of various minerals and compounds, including those previously mentioned. They form an almost insoluble coating on the insides of the pipes over the years (Edwards et al., 2007). There is a general consensus among Edwards et al., Manjie et al., Huifang et al. and Morckel that, thusly, certain scales can be largely helpful in the reduction of heavy metal transfer, from pipes to water, through corrosion and galvanized piping while the water source, usage flow and chemical composition of the water is held fairly constant. Manjie et al. writes, “Generally, these corrosion scales can served [sic] as protective layers, preventing the pipe metal from further corrosion” (594). Essentially the scales hold on to the heavy metals and prevents them from dissolving into the water.
Corrosion of WDS Scales
However, as Huifang et al. states, “source water switches can cause undesirable water quality changes due to the disturbance of corrosion scales by changes in water chemistry” (70). In other words, if the delicate balanced is somehow altered the scales may begin to dissolve and trace heavy metals may leak into the water. Manjie et al. reiterates the conclusion reporting, “changes of water quality caused by water sources transfer also disequilibriate the scale-liquid interface and lead to contaminants [sic] release” (594).
Galvanized Pipes
Edwards et al., however, redirects and considers the corrosion of galvanized pipes. Pipes are generally made of conductive metals, often copper. Water is also conductive and generally higher pH levels, along with a mixture of electrolytes or salts increases its affinity for oxidation and reduction reactions or redox reactions. As the metals from the piping mixes with the water what in short happens is the electric potentials of the metal will stick to the water, like magnets. The most common example of redox reaction is perhaps the rust. When metal rusts it releases electrons which over time corrodes and weakens the metal, meanwhile it forms characteristic reddish-brown deposits across the metal. A similar process occurs in pipelines, over time this wears down the piping and eventually makes it so delicate they easily crack. To prevent this from happening pipes are galvanized or coated in a protective zinc layer. Zinc works as a barrier between the oxidizing agents in water. However, as water flow and composition vary the zinc layers may break down and allow for the corrosion of the metal pipes (Edwards et al., 2009).
Corrosion Control Solutions and Effects
To combat the different aspects of corrosion there are numerous strategies to examine. Edwards et al. claims, “One popular strategy is dosing orthophosphate inhibitors to promote formation of insoluble corrosion scales on pipe walls” (2007). This is primarily due to the insoluble properties of phosphates. However, Morckel claims, “When the switch was made to the Flint River, corrosion control chemicals were not added to the water, even though the river is more acidic (has a lower pH) than Lake Huron.” (23). By understanding the different factors that affect water quality and by analyzing the sources side by side, it seems, not only did Flint litigators change the water source, which, as mentioned by Huifang et al. and Manjie et al., can lead to corrosion, but there was a withholding of the corrosion reducing chemicals. This in short allowed scales to break down and galvanized pipes to deteriorate. Edwards et al. directly states how this can lead to elevated lead levels in potable water, “Destabilization of corrosion scales can cause lead and iron problems if deposits begin to dissolve or detach into the water” (2007). Elevated blood lead levels have long been known to have serious effects and the potential of lead poisoning. J. N. Gordon et al. provide background on, more precisely, how lead effects children, as well as adults in the article, “Lead Poisoning: Case Studies”. Gordon et al. writes, “Symptoms in adults range from mild lethargy and fatigue to a severe motor neuropathy, characteristically with weakness of forearm extensor muscles” (454). The effects on adults is however, somewhat, less serious as today’s modern medicine often times allows for a full recovery, in less severe cases (Gordon et al., 453). Children, on the other hand, may suffer irreversible damage. Gordon et al. explains, “Chronic, low-level exposure of young children is associated with deficits in central nervous system function including impaired intelligence” and, “Lead also appears to be capable of acting either as a developmental toxin in the central nervous system in children or as a direct toxicant on neurotransmission” (454).
Sociological Aspects
The rich knowledge surrounding WDS corrosion factors and the serious repercussions of lead poisoning arouse a more circumstantial investigation into the Flint water crisis. Namely what caused the avoidance of orthophosphates in the water supply and why was the crisis not immediately discovered and mitigated? These sociological aspects of the crisis are proposed by Morckel and Sadler. Flint Michigan has suffered severely due to the diminishing motor industry causing extreme deurbanization and raised red flags for the Genesee county infrastructure. People moving out of a city equates to tax payers moving out of a city and meanwhile property taxes decline. The U.S failed to regionally plan for the large-scale population loss and for the maintenance of the shrinking city (Morckel, 23). In short there was no budget and no plan to create a budget that would allow for the basic infrastructure needs of Flint, including safe drinking water. Sadler reiterates the notion stating that, “The strong relationship between poorer neighborhood housing condition and larger postswitch and change in predicted BLLs suggests that the general deterioration of neighborhoods can be a risk factor for lead exposure from pipes” (766). Nonetheless Morckel et al. argues for an array of solutions that could have prevented the crisis including right sizing. Right sizing essentially creates a growth boundary for the city to ensure a denser population and minimizing suburban sprawl, “as neighborhoods become less dense, in Flints case- services become less efficient and cost effective” (Morckel, 24). Other approaches include tax sharing and annexing, with the overall goal of developing the wealth distribution that likely could have prevented the Flint water crisis.
Conclusion
Overall these revelations suggest that despite the myriad of research on WDS systems and corrosion control, along with the science of lead poisoning, infrastructure was evidently undermined. Morckel points out that most do not see infrastructure as a huge concern until it directly affects them (26), stating, “An annual, survey that has been conducted by Michigan State University since 1995 showed that prior to 2015, infrastructure was not a concern of Michigan residents; but after the Flint water crisis, 32.5% of Michigan residents listed it as their number one concern, above jobs and economy” (26). There is a general consensus amongst Manjie et al., Huifang et al. and Edwards et al. on the scientific aspects of corrosion control. However, there seems to be somewhat of a gap between the scientifically dense articles and those by Sadler and Morckel that touch upon anthropological considerations. The lack of research in bridging this gap has serious consequences. Science and politics rarely are symbiotic, and the downfalls were evident in Flint, Michigan where the importance of maintaining the WDS was overlooked, no measures were taken to better communicate its significance and there was an oversight on behalf of city planners and developers. As such more research needs to be done to develop an effective line of communication between engineers and policy makers to ensure human safety, as can safely be concluded by the various research brought forth from the different sources.
Works Cited
American Society of Civil Engineers. Infrastructure Report Card. ASCE, 2017, https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Drinking-Water-Final.pdf.
Gordon, J. N., et al. “Lead Poisoning: Case Studies. “British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, vol. 53, no. 5, May 2002, pp. 451-458. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1046/j.1365-2125.2002.01580.x. 10/9/2017.
Edwards, Marc A., et al. “Flint Water Crisis Caused By Interrupted Corrosion Control: Investigating “Ground Zero” Home.” Environmental Science and Technology, vol 51, no.4, 21 Feb. 2017, pp. 2007-2014. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1021/acs.est.6b04034. 10/9/2017.
Manjie, Li, et al. ‘Characteristics of Iron Corrosion Scales and Water Quality Variations in Drinking Water Distribution Systems of Different Pipe Materials.” Water Research, vol. 106, Dec. 2016, pp. 593-603. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.watres.2016.10.044. 10/9/2017.
Morckel, Victoria. “Why the Flint, Michigan, USA water crisis is an urban planning failure.” Cities, vol. 63, 15 Feb. 2017, pp. 23-27. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j cities.2016.12.002. 10/11/2017.
Sadler, Richard Casey. “Social and Built Environmental Correlates of Predicted Blood Lead Levels in the Flint Water Crisis.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 107, no. 5, May 2017, 99 763-769. EBSCOhost. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2017.303692. 10/13/2017.
Huifang, Sun, et al. “Effects of sulfate on heavy metal release from iron corrosion scales in Drinking water Distribution System.” Water Research, vol. 114, May 2017, pp. 69-77. EBSCOhost. Doi:10.1016/j.watres.2017.02.021. 10/9/2017.