Bonn Voyage American Water

Let’s face it, the tap water in the United States is pretty less than perfect. While it is better than many countries that do not have clean water, it is not even close compared to Germany’s water quality. I am talking about the drinking water in Germany and the water distribution system. In the United States, the water system allows chemicals to leach into the water and forces most Americans aware of the issue to use external water filters. Also, the United States struggles with general water distribution to the whole country. For example, California has suffered from a water shortage for many years and the recent wildfires that destroyed much of Los Angeles allowed the world to see the deplorable state of our out-of-date water infrastructure as the firefighters dealt with a lack of pressure from the hydrants so they could not adequately suppress the spread. Southern California and Arizona are simply running out of water and somehow the rest of the United States cannot seem to manage to divert water from their states to California due to a lack of water distribution infrastructure. California currently gets water from several of its systems along with water from the Colorado River however the Colorado River is running dry and Colorado is urging California to stop this practice. Another recent example that reveals the US water system failure was the contamination of groundwater in Flint Michigan. After complaints of health issues, it was discovered that the water had dangerously high levels of lead and other contaminants that had entered the water through their poorly maintained water systems. This happened when Flint had to change their water source, which caused many of their pipes to corrode.

As a New York City resident, I know that we have some of the best water in the country. However, even New York City tap water is unfiltered. Our old water distribution systems still use pipes from the 1950s, and much of the piping causes chemicals to leach into our water. Because of this, I have grown accustomed to filtering my water and making sure it runs cold, which reduces the chances of the old pipes adding extra unwanted chemicals. In Bonn, the tap water does not have to run through nearly as many lead pipes which are quickly being replaced. Germany values their infrastructure very highly which is evident in their water.

Now you are probably thinking, “Zach, why the heck are you so obsessed with water? I mean, who cares?” Water is the lifeblood of civilization, and without clean drinking water, a country will suffer. Why do you think the Romans were so successful and so powerful? It was because of their advanced aqueducts that water was delivered directly to their civilization. They saw a problem with water transportation and made a solution. Just think about this for a second: When have you ever heard of Germany having any issues with its water supply? While Germany has had many issues concerning its water, such as droughts and nitrate pollution, Germany has quickly risen to the occasion and fixed the problem right away. The Flint Michigan water crisis has lasted for nearly ten years, making international headlines for such a huge failure of infrastructure. The United States has spent 400 million dollars to quickly fix the water crisis however Flint is still running into problems with their water. 

Bonn uses water from the Rhine River basin which is very close to Bonn and ensures the water doesn’t have to travel far to reach Bonn. This is more environmentally friendly than the US where many of the water systems have to run through hundreds of miles of pipes before even reaching the target destination. For example, tap water in New York City travels from the Catskills and Delaware, which are about 125 miles away from the city. When water has to run this far, many problems arise and it makes the system more difficult to maintain. These maintenance issues cause more chemicals to leach into the tap water since the pipes will be older since they are difficult to replace. Also, unlike most American tap water, Bonn water is filtered which helps to get rid of unwanted chemicals and improve the taste of the water.

 Now that I have the privilege of living in Bonn, I have experienced firsthand how nice it is to have clean water at the tap. I do not have to worry about the chemicals that might be lurking inside. For these four months, I have been able to drink out of the tap without having to worry about finding a filtered water bottle filler. 

– Zach R

References:

Archaeology Magazine. (2024, August 15). Features – New York’s original Seaport – Archaeology Magazine – September/October 2015. https://archaeology.org/issues/september-october-2015/features/new-york-original-seaport/

Associated Press. (2017, December 13). More than 6,200 water pipes replaced so far in Flint. https://www.wilx.com. https://www.wilx.com/content/news/More-than-6200-water-pipes-replaced-so-far-in-Flint-463965863.html

California, S. O. (n.d.). The California water system. https://water.ca.gov/water-basics/the-california-water-system

The Flint Water crisis: What’s really going on? – American Chemical Society. (n.d.). American Chemical Society. https://www.acs.org/education/chemmatters/past-issues/2016-2017/december-2016/flint-water-crisis.html

Watershed – Catskill Watershed Corporation. (n.d.). Catskill Watershed Corporation. https://cwconline.org/about/watershed/