The 1% -- water, that is.
While collecting samples for water quality monitoring Tuesday along the White Oak River I began to think of how scarce our freshwater resources actually are.
We know that the planet we live on is 70% water. But, most of that water is salt, actually 97% of it is. Out of the 3% that is freshwater, 2% is unavailable to us because it is frozen in ice caps. That means, only 1% of all the water on our blue planet is available for us to actually use. While traveling throughout Swansboro, Stella and even up towards Maysville to collect from different sites, I witnessed some awful pollution. Along White Oak River Road and Emmet Lane towards the Jones County line were heaps of garbage. It looked as though somebody didn't know what to do with their junk and decided to go far out of their way and leave it along the banks of the river. Others have told me that they have found old mattresses, couches, and even washer machines near these same locations. It is up to us how we take care of the 1% available water.
I remember learning about the water cycle in elementary school. It seemed very simple and looked something like this:

The hydrological cycle is a closed system, meaning that we now have the same amount of water that our planet has always had. This should be good to hear. However, even though we still have the same amount of water; it is not available for us to use if it becomes contaminated. With that said, as population continues to grow exponentially and industry makes room for that growing population by building more houses, roads, and offices, we are threatening our drinking water supply from overusage and pollution. We get our drinking water from the ground. Once groundwater is polluted, it is almost impossible to restore. Prevention is the necessary solution.
With that said, there are things we can do. Trash is very visible to everyone. It gets blown away with the wind and thrown into our rivers. But there is more pollution that isn't so easy to see like the oil that leaks from our cars and collecst on the surfaces of the roads until it wash into our waterways when it rains. The chemicals from the fertilizers or weed killers we use in our gardens that saturate our soils and percolate to our water table underground. The old prescriptions that we flush down the toilet, entering the groundwater, increasing the concentration of hormones and other chemicals that threaten our drinking water supply as well as the wildlife. These examples are ones that offer easy solutions: Keep up with your automobile check ups - it will also save you money on gas when your car is efficiently working! Use natural fertilizer products that don't have phosphates in them - and compost! Composting reduces your waste and provides your gardens with nutrient-rich soils. And lastly, if you have old, unused prescriptions, dispose of them properly by dropping them off at the permanent drop off box located at the Jacksonville Police Department lobby or at one of our Operation Medicine Drop take back events (the first one of the year will be held on March 24th). It will not only keep our waters "drug-free"- but it will clear out your medicine cabinet and prevent drug abuse.
Let us try to keep our 1% just that--not any less!
