Understanding Rural verse Urban water quality and infrastructure
Drinking Water
Urban - where an urban infrastructure allows for municipal tap water that is filtered at a treatment facility that cannot filter the water up to par with a healthy standard.
Rural - 80% well water (Inherently filtered by the soil and cleaner than municipal water)
Infrastructure
Water quality as it relates to infrastructure.
In Pennsylvania, there are no regulation on private water wells
Source Water
Well/groundwater
Surface water
When you make a water filtration plant you need source water, that water can be sourced from either surface water or ground water. Ground water is normally cleaner than surface water because it is filtered by the earth.
Pros of Ground Water/ Wells
Clean Water (filtered by Soil)
Have your own pump infrastructure
Cons of Ground Water / Wells
Well going dry
Contamination at well head
Contamination from fracking
Contamination from Mining
Contamination from Pesticide use
Contamination from dumping
Pros of surface water
Easily accessible
Cons of Surface water / Surface Water Problems
PFAS
Animal Waste (Livestock, Wild, and domesticated animals)
Excess Fertilizer/ unregulated private property use of Herbicide and insecticide
Commercial Water Discharge from know Industril sites failing
Illegal dumping
Running out of water
Pros of Municipal water
Cons of Municipal water
What are Storm Water Projects:
Naturalized
Retrofit
New Storm Water
Capture Basin
Permeable surface (Allow water to recharge the ground water)
Con Liabilities and Problems related to the source of Water:
Ground Water Problems
Fracking
Mining
Herbicide pesticide
PFAS
Running out of water
Redundancy in municipal services
Redundancy in municipal water infrastructure
Source Water (ground and surface water - able to switch between sources without a liability/problem at that time)
Filtration (inherent filtration of ground water, limitations of PFAs filtration)
Electricity (electric goes out, have alternative or backup)
Water Contamination
Cited Sources: