Drinking Water Book Summary - Drinking Water Book explained in key points

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Drinking Water summary

Name: Drinking Water
Rating: 4.4 (44 reviews)
Author: James Salzman

James Salzman

A History

4.4 (44 ratings)

24 mins

Brief summary

'Drinking Water' by James Salzman outlines the history and current state of our drinking water systems, and offers strategies to protect it from pollution and privatization. It highlights the importance of water conservation and the impact of individual actions on the environment.

Topics

Anthropology

Table of Contents

Drinking Water
Summary of 10 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 10

What’s in it for me? Learn the importance of conserving drinkable water.

Water is something we consume every day, and yet most of us don’t question what’s actually coming out of our taps.

It’s worth learning about the history of something that is so intrinsic to our survival. These blinks address questions like, “Who first created a system for drinkable water?” and “When did we realize that untreated water is harmful to our health?”, so that we can learn to appreciate this life-giving liquid.

Fresh water is a limited resource, but with some basic knowledge of it and the structures that facilitate its provision, we can work toward ensuring that there’s enough water for people around the world now and in the future.

In these blinks, you’ll learn

about a different John Snow, unrelated to Game of Thrones;
how bottled water became so popular; and
where 20 percent of the world’s fresh water is located.

Historically, drinking water wasn’t desirable, but it was thought to hold mystical powers.

Though water may seem like a common element, it has a very interesting background.

For many centuries, and across numerous societies, water wasn’t a preferred drink. For example, the Roman upper-classes perceived water as a beverage suitable only for children, slaves or women who couldn’t drink wine.

Water continued to be perceived in the same way through to the Middle Ages and beyond, right up to and including the first pilgrims reaching the New World. Like upper-class Romans, the beer-loving pilgrims thought that water should be given only to the poorest members of the community. In the seventeenth century, there was even an English doctor who believed that drinking water could result in feeling melancholic.

Despite this, many believed in its supposed magical powers.

The idea of holy water and wells, springs or other sources holding enchanted water has been around for a long time. The Fountain of Youth, sought by the sixteenth-century Spanish explorer of the New World, Juan Ponce de León, is a famous example.

It’s likely that Ponce de León’s pursuit of rejuvenating water was embellished after his death, as nearly every other culture claims very similar stories.

According to Norse mythology, the god Odin searched for the transformative water that runs under Yggdrasil, a sacred tree that links all worlds.

Another similar tale comes from the Muslim world. In it, Alexander the Great’s political adviser Khidr makes it through the Land of Darkness to come upon a spring that could grant him immortality.

Heading into the fifteenth century, judge Sir John Fortescue said that the one reason to drink water was “for devotion.” In 1858, a miller’s daughter called Bernadette Soubirous apparently saw the Virgin Mary 18 times at a spring in Lourdes, France. Years after her death, Soubirous was declared a saint in 1933, and to this day, people travel from all over the world to try the water at Lourdes.

The Romans were the first to systemize and politicize water.

Even though the Roman upper-classes preferred wine, the Romans greatly influenced our relationship with water. They were the first to bring water into private homes, and Roman governments were the first to give their people free water.

The most impressive factor in this was the construction of aqueducts in ancient Rome, over 2,000 years ago. The fact that some of these water delivery systems still stand is a testament to Roman ingenuity. It took the Romans more than 500 years to build 11 aqueducts – including some that spanned over 50 miles – carrying a constant stream of 30 million gallons of fresh water at any given time.

The relationship between drinking unsafe water and disease wasn’t discovered until the mid-nineteenth century.

There are plenty of reasons why ancient societies preferred beer and wine over water, but the main one was that people sometimes got very sick when drinking H₂O.

While people were aware that water could make you feel ill, it wasn’t clear why this was the case. This lack of knowledge resulted in awful living conditions in crowded urban areas like New York City.

It’s not always easy to find a sufficient water source.

Around the turn of the twentieth century, the industrialized world started building infrastructure for clean water. Demand for drinkable water had increased, and the pressure was on to find new sources.

This was especially difficult in New York City. After the arrival of the Dutch in Manhattan around the mid-seventeenth century, the only nearby water source was the Kalch-Hook, a seven-acre pond that was later called “the Collect.” The pond was described in a letter to the New York Evening Journal as containing “abominable fluid.” It was first connected to a water system built in the early 1800s by The Manhattan Company, which would later become the successful Chase Manhattan Bank. Run on as little money as possible, the initial project at Kalch-Hook was hardly successful, as people became ill from consuming the water.

Treating unsafe water is still a challenge.

So we’ve established that sourcing drinkable water isn’t such an easy task. But that’s only the beginning. After that, you have to treat it and ensure it remains clean throughout its distribution.

Contrary to expectations, sources of freshwater are generally dirty. Historically, this was because of wildlife excrement and bacteria found in lakes and rivers. Nowadays, however, there are even more undesirable things to watch out for.

Distribution is probably the most vulnerable stage of our water system.

In the film Batman Begins, the villain Scarecrow contaminates Gotham’s waters with a fatal toxin. The plot draws on our paranoia about someone poisoning our water supplies, a fear that isn’t as far-fetched as you’d think.

There are three main stages of water provision: sourcing, treating and distribution. The last stage typically involves a storage facility, like an above-ground tower or an underground collection hub, that connects to individual taps in a neighborhood. It is also the stage at which the water is most susceptible to contamination.

Convenient, profitable and “healthy,” bottled water became popular in the late twentieth century.

More than 1,500 bottles of water are opened per second in the United States. This was definitely not the case 40 years ago when those seeking water would be shown a hose or tap.

There are three main reasons why bottled water has become such a popular drink.

There are serious environmental and health concerns related to our water consumption habits.

Given the rise of bottled water, one question must be raised: is it healthier than water direct from our faucets? Unfortunately, there’s no certain answer. But it’s likely not as healthy as you think.

Dasani and Aquafina undergo several rounds of treatment, but these do not come close to the number of regulations and monitoring that is required of regular tap water. The Environmental Protection Agency has no authority over the quality of bottled water. While we know that New York City’s tap water is tested 330,000 times per year, we don’t know about the tests to which bottled water is subject.

The human right to access water is still debated today.

Even by today’s standards, ancient Rome’s water and sewage systems seem quite advanced. There are many areas of the modern world where basic needs – like the provision of clean, drinkable water – aren’t being met.

In 2002, access to water was declared a basic human right at the United Nations’ Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It was recognized as a government’s responsibility to provide its citizens with water to prevent disease and dehydration. It might be interesting to note that Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States abstained from voting for the motion.

A lot of effort is being made today to secure drinking water for tomorrow.

While rain clouds disperse water over different areas of the earth, our planet never generates any new water. This may surprise you, but we are drinking the same water as the dinosaurs.

Since we have no new sources of water, some people are trying to provide it to those in need, while others are fighting to protect what they have.

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What is Drinking Water about?

Drinking Water (2012) looks at our relationship with potable water. Weaving through history to the present day, the book reveals interesting and sometimes shocking facts about drinking water and our thirst-quenching habits.

Best quote from Drinking Water

The notion that cleanliness is next to godliness took root during this era, and it made the religious community a powerful ally for sanitation reform.

—James Salzman

Who should read Drinking Water?

Anyone concerned about what goes into their bodies
People who care about the environment
Lovers of water

About the Author

James Salzman is the author of several books and over 80 academic papers. He is also the Donald Bren Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law at UCLA School of Law.

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