WATER

QUALITY
Prasanna Alavandi
Peter Sam
Riduan Rafique
Amran Uddin

Dr. James Buccellato

Honors Political Science 1010

INTRODUCTION
Water quality is continually an issue that is overlooked in the United
States, as our waters continually suffer from contamination, overuse, and pollution. It is
highly essential that every citizen has easy access to clean water, but not everyone in
this area has access to water on a daily basis in the Metro-Detroit area. Conserving
water and keeping it clean so that citizens can use it should be a prime concern in any
community. Water in major cities is often contaminated from goods that have not been
recycled and other pollutants. This water is badly deteriorated from these pollutants
which can have serious effects on public health and the ecosystem we live in 1.
Many cities have issues conserving water and delivering clean water to its
residents and a lot of these problems dealing with water can be traced to the state
government of Michigan or the local governments responsible 2. The policies regarding
water quality that were produced by some of these state and local government were not
effective and resulted in disasters like the Flint Water Crisis. These policies have
produced terrible situations for the people living in not only the Metro Detroit area but
other parts in the world.
This paper will comprehensively discuss our findings relating to our research questions.
Why is water quality so important yet under regulated? What are the policies concerning
water quality? How are these policies responsible for letting situations like the Flint
Water Crisis occur? How can these policies be reformed? What can we do to help
1

Hudgins, Bert. Turbidity, Plankton and Mineral Content of the Detroit Water Supply. Journal (American Water
Works Association) 23.3 (1931): 435444. Web.
2 "Study Finds Safety of Drinking Water in U.S. Cities at Risk." NRDC:. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

3
ameliorate the problem? How is civic sphere responsible for tackling the problem? By
answering these questions, our paper will attempt to identify the issues concerning on
water quality and discuss solutions applicable to them.

BACKGROUND
Water has been misused for decades. Almost seventy percent of the entire world
is covered in water, and out of that ninety-seven percent is inconsumable to humans.
The other 3 percent is consumable, but we are only able to access less than one
percent out of it3. This is exactly why we must protect our fresh waters, and take a
harder look at what is ruining it.
Water quality describes the condition of the water, including chemical, physical,
and biological characteristics, usually with respect to its suitability for a particular
purpose such as drinking or swimming4.
Although the percentage of fresh water may seem small, the amount of water
there can easily suffice all of the humans and animals in the world. The problem of
water quality arises when we as human beings decide that it is okay to heavily pollute
our waters. One might wonder why we not only pollute our oceans, but even our fresh
water bodies (lakes, rivers, and streams). In reality, water quality is not viewed to be an
issue that is as serious as it is.

3
4

"Water On Earth." Water On Earth. Accessed April 26, 2016.

"Water Quality Describes the Condition of the Water, including Chemical, Physical, and Biological Characteristics,
Usually with Respect to Its Suitability for a Particular Purpose Such as Drinking or Swimming." What Is Water
Quality? Accessed April 26, 2016.

4
According to the UN about two million tons of agricultural waste, industrial waste,
and sewerage are dropped into our waters every single day on average 5. This equates
to about the weight of the entire species of humans on the earth. There are very real
islands of garbage that are floating in our waters but we as humans are doing little to
nothing about it. Even more concerning is the direct effects of water pollution which can
result in toxic water and the spread of diseases.
One study estimates that annually three million five-hundred seventy-five people
die from water related diseases. Which is equivalent to a person dying every ten
seconds because of dirty water6. These figures are comparable to other world
epidemics like Polio, Aids, Malaria, and can easily be more devastating on a quantitate
scale. In fact, many diseases come from waste water and potentially can effect large
groups of adults and children. Out of the three-hundred five-million people that die every
year, a shocking number of two hundred million two-hundred thousand children die
every year6.
When are we as humans going to realize that we are destroying Earth, and in
doing that we are threatening the very existence of our species? These statistics
represent a huge problem that the earth is facing, but even as lucky as we are being
Michiganders the problem still affects us as well. About forty-six percent of our lakes are
polluted and forty percent of rivers in the US are too polluted for marine life and

"Decade, Water for Life, 2015, UN-Water, United Nations, MDG, Water, Sanitation, Financing, Gender, IWRM,
Human Right, Trans-boundary, Cities, Quality, Food Security." UN News Center. Accessed April 26, 2016.
6 "Deaths from Dirty Water and Related Diseases - Globally, This Year." The World Counts. Accessed April 26, 2016.

5
recreational activities7. Many of our rivers and waterways in our state are still too
polluted.
We will specifically look at whats going on in Flint, a city which has a population
upwards of a hundred-thousand residents8, most of whom became victims of lead
poisoning, after the recent water switch that occurred on April 2014. The crisis in Flint
is a great example of how pollution can directly affect human life. The Flint River which
was used as an industrial dumping site for many years is now being used as a water
source for a large population of people. The problem is very clear and one does not
need to have a PhD to understand the plethora of problems that is created from the
denial of a basic human necessity.
What we should try to understand however is who is at fault of causing the
problem, and what local policies led to the feasibility of its existence. In other words,
what role did the government play in creating the problem? According to the main
federal law that ensures the quality of drinking water:
Under SDWA, EPA sets standards for drinking water quality and oversees the
states, localities, and water suppliers who implement those standards 9.
This federal law is put in place to check the states and local governments;
therefore, the problem is within the state/local government. The state government is
held responsible for allocating resources and is responsible for finding its own
resources10. The water that is in the Flint River however was obviously the wrong choice
7

"Decade, Water for Life, 2015, UN-Water, United Nations, MDG, Water, Sanitation, Financing, Gender, IWRM,
Human Right, Trans-boundary, Cities, Quality, Food Security." UN News Center. Accessed April 26, 2016.
8 "Population Estimates, July 1, 2014, (V2014)." Flint City Michigan QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau.
Accessed March 28, 2016.
9 Regulatory Information by Topic. EPA. 17 Feb. 2016.

10

Biggs, Selden, and Helms, Lelia B. 2006. Practice of American Public Policymaking. Armonk, NY, USA: M.E.
Sharpe, Inc.

6
of acquiring feasible resources. The problem was that the Flint River was contaminated
for years and had high level leads and despite this state and local governments went
ahead with using.

The level of lead contamination in the water itself is baffling and according to Dr.
Hanna-Attisha it has very high health risks especially for children. It [has long-term]
impacts [on] cognition and behavior: those are the 2 we care about most. It affects
every organ system. It drops IQ. Imagine what we have done to our entire population:
we have shifted the IQ curve down. It impacts behavior, so it causes lots of problems
with learning, focusing, conduct disorder, impulse disorder, and it has even been linked
to criminality. Lead has these life-damning consequences 11.
These are just a few facts which help us view the environment of the issue of
water quality in a major city such as Flint. In very easy terms, the problem of water
quality in Flint is defined as a governmental failure in providing clean water to residents,
who still pay for their water bill at the end of each month. As we can already tell the
11

Kuehn, Bridget M., M.S.J. 2016. "Pediatrician Sees Long Road Ahead for Flint after Lead Poisoning Crisis."
JAMA 315 (10): 967.

7
current policies such as the Safe Drinking Water Act are not sufficient enough when it
comes to dealing with the water quality issues that we are facing domestically.
The issue of water quality is one of the most important issues we are facing as a
country, state, and as human beings. Pollution threatens not only our fresh water but it
also has a direct effect on marine life and its ecosystem and it also a major threat to our
public safety and our overall well-being. Most of the time we tend to forget about the
environmental aspect of water pollution. Statistics show that biodiversity of freshwater
ecosystems has been degraded more than any other ecosystem 12.
Water pollution has many different sources. The first is from industrial processes
which is in the case of Flint and its crisis. This type of pollution is the worst because not
only does it accumulate compounding effects over time, but it also affects the entire
ecosystem of the river or lake. The second type of pollution is the Microbial pollutants
from sewerage which is the most common pollutant in the environment. This creates
infectious diseases that usually lead to death among marine life and those who drink the
water. The third type of pollution is organic matter pollution and it cause eutrophication
(suffocation of the fish) which is caused by an increase of algae and a depleting amount
of oxygen. The last type of water pollution is the sulfate particles that are found in acid
rain and cause the pH level of the water to increase, increasing the mortality rate in
marine life. All of these pollution indirectly affect us and directly affect our ecosystem. All
of these problems need to be dealt with as soon as possible, and all the government
has in place are a few policies that promote the quality of drinking water. What we need

12

"Decade, Water for Life, 2015, UN-Water, United Nations, MDG, Water, Sanitation, Financing, Gender, IWRM,
Human Right, Trans-boundary, Cities, Quality, Food Security." UN News Center. Accessed April 26, 2016.

8
is a comprehensive plan to educate people about the effects of water pollution on water
quality.

PUBLIC POLICIES
Controlling the issues that threaten our countrys water supply by overuse,
mismanagement, and contamination are the layers of public policies at both the state
and federal level. At the federal level one of the most important policies concerning
water quality standards began with The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948
(FWPCA).
The industrial and und urban growth instigated by World War II had led to ever
increasing amounts of pollution of our countrys rivers, lakes, and streams which finally
convinced Congress to confront the issue. The FWPCAs purpose was specifically to
provide a comprehensive program for preventing, abating, and controlling water
pollution13. The act gave the states a majority of the responsibility for abating water
13

Powers, Ann. "Federal Water Pollution Control Act (1948)." Encyclopedia.com. HighBeam Research, 01 Jan.
2004. Web. 23 Apr. 2016.

9
pollution and encouraging interstate agreements. The act declared pollution of
interstate waters a public nuisance, however this only applied when water pollution
endangered the health and welfare of people within the state 13. When this occurred the
United States was allowed to bring an abatement action but only with the permission of
the state where the pollution occurred. This gave the states almost unlimited power to
decline federal action to prevent water pollution. The FWPCA was not designed well,
and did not accomplish much at all primarily because of this. It did however establish
the basic framework for water quality and pollution control 13.
Increasing public awareness and concern for controlling water pollution led to a
surge of amendments in 1972. This resulted in the amendment of 1948s Water
Pollution Control Act which now became commonly known as the Clean Water Act
(CWA)14. It established the basic structure for regulating pollutant discharges into U.S.
waters. It also authorized the EPA to implement pollution control programs, set
wastewater standards for industry, and made it unlawful to discharge any pollutant from
a point source into navigable waters unless a permit was obtained. Over time, other
laws changed parts of the CWA15. Title I of the Great Lakes Critical Programs Act of
1990 allowed Canada and the United States to agree to reduce certain toxic pollutants
in the Great Lakes requiring the EPA to establish water quality criteria for the Great
Lakes15. It addressed 29 toxic pollutants with maximum levels that are safe for humans
and wildlife15.
In addition to the Clean Water Act of 1974, the Safe Drinking Water Act is another
important piece of federal legislation that protects public drinking water supplies
14

"History of the Clean Water Act." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2016.

15

"History of the Clean Water Act." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2016.

10
throughout the nation (EPA). It focuses primarily on all waters used or potentially used
for drinking use. It allows the EPA to establish minimum standards to protect tap water
and requires all owners of public water systems to comply with these health related
standards16. It is important to not that the act does not apply to privately owned wells
and bottled water17. Bottled water is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA).
Aside from policies introduced at the national level, state governmental policies,
specifically in Michigan, play a large role in the state of its water quality. The State of
Michigans Part 4 Rules, Water Quality Standards, specify water quality standards which
shall be met in all waters of the state. Michigans Part 4 Water Quality Standards require
that all designated uses (agriculture, navigation, industrial water supply, aquatic life etc.)
of the receiving water be protected18. In addition, the State of Michigans Part 8 Rules,
Water Quality Based Effluent Limit Development for Toxic Substances, is used to
establish toxic substance water quality-based effluent limits (WQBELs) for point source
discharges that are protective of the designated uses of the surface waters of the
state19.
In addition to Michigans Water Quality Standards, Michigans Water Strategy, an
initiative put forth by the Department of Environmental Quality, supports the suggestion
of many policies to protect and ensure clean and safe sources of water while taking an

16
17

"Summary of the Safe Drinking Water Act." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2016.

18
19

Deq-Wrd. Part 4. Water Quality Standards (n.d.): n. pag. 13 Jan. 2006. Web. 23 Apr. 2016.

"About Private Water Wells." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2016.

Deq-Wrd. Part 8. Water Quality-Based Effluent Limit Development for Toxic Substances (n.d.): n. page. 13 Jan.
2006. Web. 23 Apr. 2016.

11
eco-system approach20. This approach focuses on the fact that Michiganders are part
of the environment in which we live in and therefore have an effect the health of our
water resources20. The Water Strategy identifies recommendations to improve and
protect the quality of water in Michigan by introducing several stances on strategic
action to do so.
The Water Strategy first identifies protection and restoration of aquatic
ecosystems by suggesting a more integrated approach to managing water on and
across the landscape including groundwater. Secondly it suggested the insurance of
clean and safe waters by protecting and restoring Michigans ecosystem function and
supporting current and future human uses of Michigans surface and groundwater
resources. Among these suggested plans of actions, investing in water infrastructure,
monitoring water quality, and promoting water-based economics are also some of the
suggested policies. In addition to the strategys outline of policy proposals, it also
advocates for securing long term funding to accelerate the clean up of contaminated
areas and passing statewide inspection requirements 21.
Municipalities also have their own policies concerning water quality. The city of
Detroit for example has the policies established by the Detroit Water and Sewage
Department (DWSD). The DWSD inspects Detroits water source for a variety of
pollutants in the water to ensure that EPA standards are surpassed, not just met 22.
DSWD has put in place source water protection activities that include chemical

20

Sustaining Michigan's Water Heritage: A Strategy for the Next Generation. Issue brief. Department of
Environmental Quality, 04 June 2015. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.

21
22

"Study Finds Safety of Drinking Water in U.S. Cities at Risk." NRDC:. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

2014 Water Quality Report. Rep. Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, 2015. Web. 09 Mar.
2016.

12
containment, spill response, and a mercury reduction program 22. Tap water can have a
slew of contaminants ranging from lead, pathogens, aqueous carcinogens, to toxic
heavy metals23. DWSD monitors water entering the city specifically for unregulated
contaminants and pathogens that the EPA has not established standards for just yet 22.

POLICY REFORM
Water quality policies at the federal, state, and municipal levels do a good job
addressing the major effects of water pollution and human activities on our water quality,
however they still do not succeed well in eliminating the problem. Despite these efforts
by policies and various legislation, water is still unevenly distributed and continually
suffers contamination. In order to tackle the problem of ineffective policies we must first
identify the issues with the policies that are already in place
The reason why the Flint crisis occurred is because of the policies that are in
place right now. The current policies CWA, SDWA, MEPA, and MDEQ need to be
buffed in order to prevent the current crisis we face. If stricter rules and guidelines were
given to each policy, the state and local systems would stay away from dismissing them.
The Clean Water Act has caused a large decline in pollution sourced from
municipalities or industries, however it left most of the management of non-point
sourced pollution in the control of state and local governments much like the failed
efforts of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948. Inadequate attention given to
regulation and management efforts by state and local systems to contain non-point
sources of pollution causes the discharge of polluted runoff from paved areas, septic
23

"Detroit Environmental Education Programs | Green Living Science." Detroit Environmental Education Programs
| Green Living Science. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

13
tanks, abandoned mines, and fields and lawns 24.

Fertilizers from farms and fields

many times find themselves traveling through river systems into large bodies of water
such as lakes and seas. These fertilizers effectively kill off aquatic life resulting in water
ridden with the dead remains of fish and other organisms, providing a thriving cesspool
for dangerous bacteria and other pathogens, contaminating the water further. These
state and local systems often leave regulation and management of this kind of pollution
in the hands of non-profit organizations rather than using the powers bested within the
government to control the situation24.
The Safe Drinking Water Act was created to ensure the quality of water
Americans consumed is safe for consumption25. The EPA makes guidelines for safe
clean water and the state and local water suppliers must abide by the standards given.
These guidelines must be rewritten to put stricter documentations on how to remove
lead from waterways and how to prevent lead from getting into the waterways in the first
place. Also, strict fines should be in place if the local and state government do not abide
by the guidelines of the EPA. This in turn would cause the local and state government to
take better caution when supplying water to the resident of a given area.

The Michigan Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) was created primarily to preserve
the environment. It allows any citizen to sue in order to prevent the decay of the
environment and it has been made stricter for those who dont abide 26. Fees and

24

Andreen, William L. "The Clean Water Act Needs Positive Reform." RegBlog. N.p., 12 Aug. 2013. Web. 28 Mar.
2016.

25
26

Regulatory Information by Topic. EPA. 17 Feb. 2016.

Magazine, Guest Columnist | Bridge. "Dave Dempsey: Admiring Gov. Milliken's Environmental Legacy as He
Turns 94." Web. 26 Mar. 2016.

14
penalties were raised because policymakers believed more had to be done to protect
the environment. This policy should be rewritten so that the citizens can sue any local
water suppliers for wrongfully supplying dangerously contaminated water to the people.
This will force water suppliers to be more considerate of the quality of the water they are
supplying.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality was created to watch over
the air, water, and land quality in Michigan 27. It exclusively follows the guidelines given
by the EPA regarding environmental policies, and because of this it is like the EPA on a
state level. Like the Safe Drinking Water Act, this policy should be rewritten to have
strict fines for those who do not abide by the guidelines of the EPA. The MDEQ gave
citizens confirmation that the water in which water suppliers were supplying was safe to
drink when in reality it was heavily polluted. It was contaminated with various different
substances including lead and large amounts of inorganic phosphates. These
substances were ignored by the MDEQ, because their concentrations were passed off
as being safe and made many residents of Flint sick and prone to lead poisoning and
the resulting conditions.
An obvious lack of a comprehensive, fully effective water policies has caused an
ineffective and wasteful use of our water resulting in threats to our ecosystems and
more importantly our public health. More importantly, these weak policies regarding
water standards are responsible for destroying public health in situations such as the
Flint Water Crisis. As weve already discussed, Flint is an example of the
27

United States. Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Water Resources. DEQ Policy and Procedures.
State of Michigan. Web. 25 Mar. 2016.

15
consequences of not having an established water quality policy and the utter failure to
manage proper water treatment. The EPAs response to this crisis was sluggish and
irresponsible partially because of the limit of federal power on state and local water
agencies actions28. This limit is solely due to the policies established by the Safe
Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Also concerning the crisis was the EPAs assurance that
the water being delivered into the homes of the Flint citizens were still within a safe
range established by a 25-year-old EPA regulation on lead and copper. Although the
EPA privately pushed for state officials to do more, the SDWA effectively caused the
EPAs inability to oversee management of the situation and caused resistance at the
state and local levels. This caused a threat to public health that may have been averted
had federal agencies such as the EPA had the correct power to do so 29.
It is clear that the policies we have discussed need reform. Many of these
policies give too much power to state and local systems which have failed to enforce
proper regulation and monitoring of our water systems. What is needed is a shift of
power from the state and local level to the federal level. Although the SDWA and the
CWA were designed to allow federal and state/local entities to work together in a
proactive manner, it denied federal intervention when due necessary. In addition, the
25-year-old water quality standards the EPA used to claim Flints water was within a
safe range need to be revised to meet higher standards. Also the management of nonpoint pollution by state and local systems needs to be more supported by federal

28

Leber, Rebecca. "The EPAs Silent, Guilty Role in the Flint Water Crisis." New Republic. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr.
2016.

29

Leber, Rebecca. "The EPAs Silent, Guilty Role in the Flint Water Crisis." New Republic. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr.
2016.

16
entities. Non point pollution regulation is hard to enforce at a local level because of its
ability to export itself down river to other towns and cities. Many of these issues are
directly related to the division of power among federal, state, local systems concerning
water quality policies and these powers must be redistributed.

POLICY PROPOSAL
As stated before, Flints water conditions effects about 100,000 residents in Flint.
Most of these residents use alternative water options and lead water filters supplied to
them by the Michigans National Guard, but it costs the state government funds to keep
supplying the water. Also, the replacing of pipes would cost much more. In addition to
replacing the pipes, the time taken to replace the old pipes would take an elongated
time. More funds would go to supplying more water to the residents of Flint. A policy
that is cost effective and can fix the pipes as quick as possible would be most effective.
Our policy proposal is to declare the Flint water crisis as a disaster. By doing this, more
funds would go out to help the crisis. In addition, alternative water supplies would not
be needed as long as it has now. The replacement and construction of pipes would also
be fast-forwarded because it has become a greater priority on a national level.
The process to declare an emergency as a disaster is stated on FEMAs official
website30. FEMA states that the governor of the state has to make a request to the
30

"Declaration Process Fact Sheet." FEMA.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

17
president for a disaster declaration. The request must contain key information
concerning the disaster. Firstly, the appropriate action the governor under the state law
is going to use to fix the problem is needed. Secondly, it should state the resources and
efforts to trying to relieve the problem. In addition, it should also state other agencies
that assisted in trying to solve the problem. Finally, it should have a detailed summary of
the additional federal assistance required. After the request is sent, it would be
assessed and based on the assessment the state affected would get assistance 31.
There are different types of assistance in these situations. Public assistance has
categories varying from A to G31. Categories A to B are debris removal and protective
measures. If an emergency is declared as an emergency declaration, only categories A
and B are placed into action31. The other categories are unavailable under the
emergency declaration and are defined as permanent work 31. This simply means that a
lot of work and resources are needed to fix the problem.
If the Flint crisis has been declared as an emergency declaration, Category B
assistance would be offered. We however believe that Categories C through G are
needed to fix Flints problem. Category B assistance promises relief of the problem but
not a permanent solution. Flints problem is no easy fix and with only Category B
assistance, the vital repairs to infrastructure in the city, such as the removal of the
corroded pipes, would not be offered.

DIRECT ACTION

31

"Declaration Process Fact Sheet." FEMA.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

18
There are local nonprofit organizations that work to help the environment of Detroit,
including its water resources. Green Living Science is a nonprofit organization that
mainly focuses on recycling, but it works overall to protect the environment. The motto
of GLS is, teaching recycling to transform Detroit. GLS works tirelessly to advocate
recycling and environmental protection in Detroit. They do this mainly by working with
the Detroit Public Schools District educating students from elementary school to high
school to be more environmentally aware. This includes educating them on the use of
recycling, and advocating to keep the Earth green. GLS has a recycling plant near its
building that attracts 3,000 people per week to come and recycle their trash 32. They also
have many community events to attract the citizens of Detroit to get involved in
recycling and environmental sustainability in the city.
Green Living Science is also concerned with the issue of water quality and water
pollution because they are involved with the Go Green movement. The Go Green
movement is a social and political movement that promotes keeping the earth clean and
protecting the environment from harm such as pollution and trash 33. GLS wants to
create a green environment for Detroit by being concerned about Detroits water,
greenery, and air.
Our group volunteered at Green Living Science for 40 service hours. One of the
volunteering activities we were involved in was creating lesson plans about water
conservancy, sustainability, policy, and advocacy for students in elementary through
high school proficiencies. These lesson plans we created were essentially an outline for
32

Bennedetti, Marti. "Tour Takes Look at Detroit as Leader in Solving Social Ills with Innovation." Crain's Detroit
Business. 2016. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.
33 Somerville, Madeleine. "The Go Green Movement." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 2016. Web. 26
Apr. 2016.

19
assignments, projects, and fun activities students could work on to learn more about
water conservation, and how to prevent water contamination. Our volunteer work with
GLS also included requesting funds and sponsorships from various companies and
people to benefit the surrounding DPS schools and their energy and recycling systems.
Some of these funds and grants allow GLS to keep on functioning to serve the
community.
Recycling is an important part of conserving of the environment and therefore
plays a big part in keeping our waterways clean 34. The trash that is not recycled
contaminates the water by entering waterways and ending up in our water systems.
Trash can enter into lakes and ponds and can even contaminate the groundwater.
These sources of water are highly important to humans because these bodies of water
are fresh water resources. By not recycling, the trash that has not been recycled can
end up in fresh water resources which in turn ruins the water and deems it unusable 35.
Green Living Science does a good job of advocating environmental protection
and the three Rs: reuse, recycle, reduce. GLS has positively impacted the community
of Detroit by making it a greener and an eco-friendlier environment. It also does a great
job educating students in Detroit Public Schools about how to preserve the
environment. They go to many Detroit Public Schools to educate students multiple times
a week and these students benefit from these events by doing homework and projects
related to environmental protection. GLS allows many citizens, schools and workplaces
to use their recycling program by setting up recycling programs for citizens, schools,
and workplaces in Detroit in order to increase the amount of recycling occurring in
34
35

Hance, Eremy. "Has Big Conservation Gone Astray?" Conservation News. 2016. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.

Lusky, Rafael. A Model of Recycling and Pollution Control. The Canadian Journal of Economics / Revue
canadienne d'Economique 9.1 (1976): 91101. Web.

20
Detroit. In addition, they also set up recycling bins in schools and businesses, and pick
them up every other week. Doing this saves countless amounts of trash from being
littered, and from being improperly disposed of.
Although Green Living Science has been very valuable for the ecosystem of the
Detroit area, it has some limitations that prevent it from being more effective. For
example, GLS is proactive about recycling and environmental protection, but it is limited
in what does to promote recycling and environmental protection. Meaning, it advocates
too much for recycling and environmental awareness in Detroit rather than actually
doing work in Detroit to enhance its ecology.
Metro Detroit also has polluted rivers and waterways that are still an issue. GLS
should be actively working to help treat the polluted areas rather than always
advocating environmental awareness and environmental protection. Besides recycling
programs, GLS does not do much that actively results in cleaning copious amounts of
waste in the City of Detroit. GLS does not even have many statistics or data about
Detroit concerning its ecological environment.
Another problem with GLS is that it does not have the influence to create or
advocate for better environmental policies in the City of Detroit. The City of Detroit does
not have sustainable and efficient public policies for ecological environmental protection
and treatment in the City of Detroit. It does not have a lot of political influence in the
local civic government of Detroit because of its lack of resources. As a result, it does not
do much to push the city council to make any public policies regarding environmental
protection. One of the best ways to push for a change in the policies regarding

21
environmental and ecological sustainability is to get involved with local policymakers
and GLS fails to do that.
Another reason why GLS is limited is because it does not have enough money. It
gets its money mainly from grants, funds, and donations. These grants, funds, and
donations often come from individual people, companies, and other organizations. If
GLS had more money to obtain resources, it could have more political power. It could
be a lobbyist, and push for bills that promote ecological wellness in Detroit. It could also
do more than just advocate for environmental protection and recycling. With more
money, GLS could actually get involved with the Go Green Movement by actively
strengthening the ecological environment of Detroit through programs directed to water
treatment, recycling, and air pollution.
In Detroit, where not a lot of civic organizations exist to solely tackle litter and
pollution in the city, GLS can certainly do more. Detroits ecological environment is
getting better, but it is nowhere near perfect. Detroit is still one of the major cities with
the lowest recycling rates in the country and even though recycling participation in
Detroit has increased over the years from 11% to 13 % it is not enough to create an
environmentally sustainable city36.

HOW CAN WE GET INVOLVED?

There are also many ways Wayne State Students can get involved with the issue
of water quality and water conservation. There are many volunteering opportunities that
can be used to better the water quality in Detroit, and other cities in Michigan. Green
36

Bernthal, Ronald. "Snyder Signs Bill To Require Accurate State Recycling Data." CBS Detroit. Web. 26 Apr.
2016.

22
Living Science specifically has many volunteering opportunities for all the events they
do. Students can volunteer in GLS by mentoring students in Detroit Public Schools.
Mentoring students basically consists of advocating for environmental awareness and
water quality in schools. GLS also offers research opportunities for Wayne State
University student volunteers which involve making lesson plans for students. As
previously discussed, these lesson plans can involve creating outlines for homework
and projects students could do to learn more about environmental protection and water
conservation.
There are other organizations that Wayne State University students can join in
order to volunteer in causes related environmental protection, specifically water
protection. There are many student organizations that are sending relief to residents in
the City of Flint including the Wayne State Muslim Student Association, Urban
Watershed Environmental Research Group, Wayne Cares, and American Red Cross.
These groups give relief to the residents in Flint by sending out water bottles to
residents, and by doing research related to the Flint Water Crisis. These organizations
work hard to improve the water quality and provide clean water to citizens in Metro
Detroit.
Any individual can actively volunteer and help promote the cause of water related
issues. An individual does not have to protect his or her water resources only by joining
a community organization. There are several ways to preserve water quality and to
protect the Earths freshwater resources at a persons own household. By preserving
the Earths freshwater resources by using less water, turning off the sink when not in

23
use, fixing water leaks, reusing water, we can be actively involved in the fight for water
conservation and sustainability37.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, water quality is an issue that is underestimated. If not handled
properly it can have detrimental affects to public health and society. The policies that
were put in place have failed to properly address the issue and irresponsibly allowed the
Flint Crisis to occur. It is clear that our policies have failed us at a national level due to
the improper division of regulating powers and need reform. Non-profit organizations
such as Green Living Science are fighting to protect the environment and our water
ways however, we as a civilization must take a more active approach to tackle pollution
at the source. Promoting environmental education is essential for all of us and
incorporating a reform of policies and being active in the fight for clean water will secure
a cleaner, risk free future.

37

Olness, Alan. "Water quality: prevention, identification and management of diffuse pollution." Journal of
Environmental Quality 24.2 (1995): 383-383.

24

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