Article: http://www.vancouversun.com/life/environment/coli+scare+ripples+through+White+Rock/3430560/story.html
Summary:
EPCOR, a utility company based in Edmonton, Alberta, has detected traces of E. coli in White Rock's water supply, forcing nearly 20,000 residents to boil their water. Residents were advised by health officials that all tap water should be boiled for at least one minute before being used drinking, washing vegetables, or even brushing teeth. Businesses around the area were struggling and scrambling to find clean sources of water supply for their customers. Samples of water from twenty-four sites were taken back to be tested, and EPCOR had only found E. coli in one site. They had also searched White Rock's six well heads, construction sites, reservoirs, hydraulics, and sampling facilities, but the source of bacteria still remains unknown. David Plug, the spokesman of Fraser Health Authority, has stated that it may have been a sampling or lab error, or there was a contamination somewhere along the process. It could also be possible that water had leeched through the ground with contaminants. The boiling water advisory will not cease and will continue to stay in place until three consecutive water samples are free from bacteria.
Connection:
This article links to both scarcity and opportunity costs. Water, as many of you may have known, is a scarce resource. Due to the contamination of E. coli, the scarcity of water has ultimately increased and has affected 20,000 residents of White Rock. But that is only to say the least. Not only did this affect the residents of White Rock, but this had also affected businesses in the area, such as restaurants like The Boathouse or Uli's Restaurant. Stephen Duzyer, the head chef of The Boathouse Restaurant has claimed that they have already spent $1,000 on ice, which is where opportunity cost comes into the picture. The Owner of Uli's Restaurant has claimed that he had to wake up one or two hours earlier each day just to buy juice and other beverages to sell to customers. Residents of White rock were also forced to buy bottled water from local supermarkets such as Walmart. Due to this factor, the demand for bottles of distilled water has then largely increased. As a result, businesses were charging consumers at the cost of up to $7 for one-litre of bottled water. Other costs that may need to be factored in could be the electricity and heat that residents may have to use to boil their water to ensure that the water they drink could be safely consumed, as well as the amount of fuel that they have to use to travel to local supermarkets for beverages and clean water.
Reflection:
Nowadays, it seems as if clean water is becoming scarcer and we have to be more attentive to what we consume because there could be traces of contaminants anywhere. Water pollution and wastes being dumped into rivers and canals have made the water become unsuitable for drinking, therefore increasing the scarcity. While we think we still have a large supply of fresh water, we don't, and after I read this article I feel that we have been taking the things we have for granted. We may not realize it now, but in the near future this may become a serious issue. Millions of people have died each year from preventable diseases, after drinking water from polluted and contaminated sources. I feel that we are very lucky and are privileged to be given this luxury to have fresh water supply, but not very many of us appreciate this. I feel that we could help by cutting down the usage of water as much as possible, such as turning the taps off when we don't need it, take shorter showers, and we could even consider buying toilets that have water-saving features. That way, we can conserve the amount of water we use for our own benefits, but more importantly, for people who are in need of fresh water.
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