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• 1 2024-04-24T18:32:18+00:00 The Detrimental Effects of the Water 19 Water contamination is very dangerous for the health and well-being of a community. google_maps 2024-04-26T03:37:16+00:00 36.6240, -120.1843 Seven of California’s top agricultural counties are in the San Joaquin Valley. California employs about 20 and 50 percent of the pesticides used in the United States. Farms typically share irrigation systems with other ones and it ends up running into or connecting with a water source. When it rains or whenever the plants are watered the fertilizers and pesticides that are used to keep crops healthy flow into the irrigation water. The water then travels to different reservoirs and pipelines to be repurposed. Some of the contaminants also are a result of animal farming. The manure often has harmful contaminants and when it rains they are carried into the irrigation system. A lot of this repurposed water ends up in the drinking water  of the valley’s residents. The chemicals polluting it include nitrates, arsenics, uranium, carcinogens, and many others. About one million people total have been affected by contaminated water. In some counties almost the entire population is drinking it.
  
  
  There has been a lot of research on how this contamination can affect us. One study found that higher levels of arsenic in drinking water can lead to an increased risk of developing cancer. In addition, arsenic was found in 60 percent of the valley’s water and can produce blindness and partial paralysis in those exposed. The pesticides used in California have also been linked to increased chances of childhood cancers. About 170,000 children are living in the danger zone and therefore are at higher risk. Nitrates have been found in 61 percent of the valley’s drinking water and impacted over 275,000 people. Some health issues that have been potentially linked to nitrates include indigestion, depression, weakness, miscarriage, cancer, nervous system disabilities, Crohn’s disease, and more. A different study looked at dairy farms, nitrates in drinking water, and low birth weight and found a correlation between all three of them. This means that the farming nature of the valley has led to contaminated water, which has lead to health disadvantages. The effects of these contaminants have been proven to be very harmful to the community, deteriorating people’s bodies over time.