By Decire Gonzalez KC'S BLOG • • • • • • • 0 Comments

Groundwater

It should come as no surprise that groundwater is the foundation of our drinking sources, but are we aware of the significance of preserving it for the sake of our health and the environment?

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (NYEPA) is responsible for regulating the public water systems that use groundwater. However, regulating groundwater is significant for both municipal and private water systems. Groundwater comes from natural sources beneath the earth's surface in the cracks between rock and soil; as such, they are susceptible to pollution. There are many factors that can contribute to polluted groundwater such as natural disasters like wildfires and flooding. When contaminated chemicals are mixed with the groundwater, it becomes unsafe, and when humans consume it, it provokes serious health issues. Inadequate sanitation can also subject people to a variety of diseases. Aside from the unpleasant smells, studies have shown that contaminated water can cause cancer and even miscarriages.

It is important that owners of private water systems are aware of the different methods they can use to make sure their wells are safe and, more importantly, protect their families from consuming contaminated water. Private owners must conduct research to determine what types of chemicals are prevalent in their regions, and then conduct yearly contaminant tests on their wells. Additionally, private owners must keep fertilizer away from their wells because these chemicals may migrate. The more private owners understand about wells, the better they will be able to safeguard their home's water system. Many websites, such as wellsowners.org, can keep owners up to speed on the latest information on how to maintain their wells.

Groundwater pollution has serious environmental consequences, including ecological deterioration, which has repercussions for food security. It is critical to be aware of our human actions that may have an impact on the environment. Human activities such as deforestation, plastic pollution, and toxic waste dumping are major contributors to these environmental issues. To avoid contaminating our groundwater, we must reduce human-caused environmental pollution by avoiding excessive fertilizer use and following the instructions of our groundwater regulators.

 

By Decire Gonzalez KC'S BLOG • • • • • • 0 Comments

Make Everyday Earth Day

Earth Day is an annual event held on April 22nd since 1970 to bring awareness and show support for environmental protection. But did you know that one of the inspirations for Earth Day were the 1960s anti-Vietnam War teach-in protests? This was an educational empowerment protest where the attendees were able to listen to lectures and hold free debates.

The terms “pollution” and “global warming” weren’t known or popular between the 1900s to the 1960s like they are in today’s society, which was due to the fact that even though the Industrial Revolution brought technological advances, industrial pollution was still minimal, and Americans didn’t know much or nothing at all about the topic. However, by the early 1960s, the rapid growth of factories resulted in constant smoke being released into the air. Americans started to become more aware of the effects of pollution on the environment. Americans started to notice how these factories dumped waste into the air and water sources, causing changes to the environment and leading to illness and death.

In the 1960s, Americans took over streets to protest about Counterculture and the Civil Rights Movement. This was a tumultuous and divisive decade, but it also became an inspirational decade to Senator Gaylord Nelson, who created the Earth Day movement to educate Americans about environmental issues. This non-profit organization focuses on climate crisis and what to do to protect our environment. Earth Day became a national spotlight, allowing more Americans to be aware of climate changes and what was causing them.

Now, Earth Day is a worldwide movement. Here are some ways you can make everyday Earth Day and protect the environment:
• Reduce, reuse, and recycle;
• Plant a tree;
• Buy non-toxic chemicals;
• Buy energy efficient light bulbs;
• Use less water; and
• Drive less.

To learn more about Earth Day, please visit https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/earth-day

 

By Decire Gonzalez KC'S BLOG • • • • • • 0 Comments

World Water Day

World Water Day is an annual observance held on March 22nd since 1993 to bring awareness of the importance of worldwide freshwater. In honor of this day, it’s important to bring awareness on how important freshwater is, the main concerns on how freshwater is suffering in today’s society, and how we can address these freshwater issues we are facing.

We all know that freshwater is a vital resource for life due to being an important aspect of supporting human civilization and our ecosystems. But did you know that less than 3% of the world’s surface is freshwater? Therefore, is important to come up with solutions and work together to preserve freshwater worldwide. We might not see freshwater as a luxury since we can easily obtain it, but in other parts of the world, it is hard to obtain clean water. Freshwater is important to our food production because, without freshwater, it would be impossible to harvest sustainable crops and food. Having access to clean water is indispensable for agricultural production. In addition, freshwater is one of the main sources to feed the farmers’ animals.

One of the concerns of freshwater is pollution, and it is the main reason why our freshwater is suffering today. Pollution has been taking over our freshwater resources such as rivers and lakes, which is making our water undrinkable, and it is also causing harm to our wildlife. Therefore, so many species of our wildlife are in danger of extinction. One of the reasons why we cannot maintain proper sanitation to our rivers and lakes is due to overuse. The overuse of these freshwater resources can be trigged by many factors, such as population growth. Population growth causes our rives and lakes to dries up, which leads to freshwater shortages.

We need to act now and address these freshwater concerns because this will be a big and dangerous issue that our future generations will have to face. In order to fight the freshwater crisis, we need to come up with strategies and approaches worldwide. Some important areas that we can approach are getting educated on these issues and coming up with ways to change our lifestyles, coming up with new technologies to recycle wastewater, and improving our infrastructure.

We need to unite globally and individually to do our parts in maintaining our freshwater resources no matter what side of the world we are in.

 

By Decire Gonzalez KC'S BLOG • • • • • • • • 0 Comments

Why is Environmental Engineering Important?

Environmental engineering is one of many methods used to mitigate environmental issues we are facing today.

Environmental engineering is a branch of engineering that concentrates on improving environmental quality. According to the American Academy of Environmental Engineers (AAEE), environmental engineering is defined as "the application of engineering principles to the management of the environment for the protection of human health, for the protection of nature's beneficial ecosystems, and for environment-related enhancement of the quality of human life." In other words, the main goal of environmental engineering is to protect humanity from negative environmental effects. Environmental engineering is a key tool to fight against climate change; this is done by using environmentally friendly materials and developing new materials that can adapt to climate change. For example, eco-concrete and eco-bricks are two environmentally friendly materials used by Environmental Engineers.

Some of the main focuses of environmental engineering include air pollution management, water supply and treatment, and wastewater treatment and management, the benefits of which include easily available drinking water, preventing the spread of waterborne diseases with effective sanitation systems, and monitoring air pollution. Focusing on these areas allows mankind to maintain a much healthier quality of life than would otherwise be the case.

KC understands the importance of fighting against environmental issues. KC’s engineering staff includes a wide range of experienced and talented personnel encompassing all our main areas of service, and includes dedicated civil and environmental engineers experienced in drainage, stormwater, drinking water, and wastewater solutions. To learn more about KC’s services, please visit our Services tab.