January 30, 2018
Oliver Adon
Over winter break, I visited my family in Panamá. Because it was a vacation, my parents wanted us to stay at a nice place, so we rented a room at a country club for two weeks.
As the landlady gave us the tour, she told us that we should drink from the refrigerator, not the tap, if we were thirsty. I noticed a difference between the filtered refrigerator water and the tap water while I brushed my teeth.
I thought country clubs were for wealthy people who were willing to pay more money to stay somewhere more suitable, so I wondered why even the water there would have to be filtered through the refrigerator.
It made me realize that I’m lucky to be able to drink from the tap here in Colorado Springs without having to worry about how clean or filtered the water is. Others aren’t as fortunate, and drinking clean water can be a daily concern.
Having clean water is a privilege, and one that many human beings do not have access to.
Today, 844 million people do not have access to safe water, according to Water.org. One in nine people lack access to safe water. Water.org also calculated that every 90 seconds, a child dies from a water-related disease.
You’d think that the United States, one of the most developed countries in the world, would have good drinking water all over the country, but this is a common misconception. One such counterexample is the Flint Water Crisis.
According to CNN’s timeline, The Flint Water Crisis began in April 2014 when the city of Flint, Michigan switched to using water from the Flint River. The water contained a high amount of lead. This can negatively affect the kidneys, heart and nerves, according to CNN.
The city was unable to effectively treat the water, which led to cognition and behavioral problems in children.
Although Flint is just one example, it shows that even in the United States, one can be affected by problems that are thought to have been solved long ago.
Knowing this, Coloradans can appreciate and take advantage of having access to good water. Colorado Springs gets a majority of its water from the mountains, which means the water is less likely to contain harmful elements before processing.
Water refilling stations are located across campus. By utilizing these water stations, students and educators can help reduce the amount of water bottles being disposed of.
Carrying a reusable water bottle can aid in reminding an individual to drink more water. During class, I often set my water bottle on the desk and take a sip every time there’s a pause in the lecture. This forces you to drink more, if you are able to easily refill your water bottle.
It’s much easier to drink water this way than to drink eight to 10 glasses a day. A good guideline is about 2 liters a day, but that number can be less if one eats more food during the day because food contains a good amount of water as well.
Water is essential in everyday life and those of us who are fortunate enough to drink Colorado water on a daily basis need to not take it for granted.
Who knows when a situation will pop up where you find yourself wishing you had clean drinking water?