One thing that we can never take for granted, but often do, is clean drinking water. It’s easy to believe that we’ll always have clean supply, that some Green Peace adventure in Africa or Asia is the only purification effort the world needs. That’s why it’s so scary when an event like what’s happening in Toledo, Ohio happens. It’s a bit of a wake up call.
In Toledo, Ohio, the water supply has been tainted by algae. The algae have put toxins into the water that could be very dangerous to human health, as they’re said to be deadlier than cyanide (It’s important to note that the toxins are deadlier than cyanide, not the water, which would possibly contain a very small amount of the toxin, still enough to put your body through some serious pain or possibly even death).
Water is being delivered to Ohio’s 4th biggest city via crates of disposable water bottles and tanks of water for filling containers that families can keep stored at home to stay hydrated. Thus far, there has been little damage in either medical emergencies from the toxin or in panic from the ban of using tap water. People are taking it in stride, making an adventure out of the dilemma. Clearly, relief efforts have been on the ball with this one, and life in Toledo will continue on mostly unhindered.
The scariest thing about this is that the water filtration center that found the levels of algae toxin too high, leading to the ban, were checking the levels daily, and that may not be the case with other water filtration centers. This event should serve as a warning for people all around the world to not take clean drinking water for granted, and the parts of the world that offer us such a blessing, need to be maintained and respected by all.
