Follow the Drop – Drinking Water
Drinking Water
You have chosen to become drinking water! The drinking water that arrives at taps within the Bow River Watershed from a municipal water treatment plant and distribution system is clean and safe for drinking. This is because there are many safety measures in place, and municipalities must monitor water quality continuously and report these results. The exception for this is that rural drinking water sources are typically considered privately owned and so monitoring water quality in these instances is the responsibility of the consumer.
Although you started out clean, as you move through the body and hydrate the human who drank you, you will pick up bacteria and biological contaminants.
Definitions
Watershed: An area of land that catches rain and snow and drains or seeps into a marsh, stream, river, lake or groundwater. Homes, farms, cottages, forests, small towns, big cities and more can make up watersheds.
Contaminants: A substance that, in a sufficient concentration, will cause adverse effects to water, land, fish, or other things potentially rendering it unusable.
Fun Fact
Body and hydrate: Your body is made up of 60% water and it takes approximately four weeks for your body to cycle through the water it takes in. This means that if you are living in the Watershed for more than a month, more than half of your body is from the Bow River
Where next?
For this reason, sewage water goes directly from the toilet to the wastewater treatment plant, so this is your only choice for your next destination!
References and Further Reading
- Government of Alberta. (2009). Alberta Environment’s Drinking Water Program : a “source to tap, multi-barrier” approach. Retrieved from https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/e79cd5e4-63aa-44b4-a48c-9a2fd399dcbf/resource/f80a66d9-0bbe-4b7d-ac8b-192335de278f/download/2009-alberta-environments-drinking-water-program-source-tap-multi-barrier-approach-may-2009.pdf