The Overlooked Privilege: Assessing our Community's Water System

As I prepared to investigate an issue within my community, I reflected upon a personal experience from this past week at my family’s annual Thanksgiving gathering. As Americans, we commonly see Thanksgiving as a day to prominently express gratitude for the many blessings within life. While eating the holiday’s traditional, and seemingly mandatory, dressing and turkey, I looked around my grandparents’ crowded kitchen to see many family members, from toddler to adult, drinking bottled water. Upon this observation, I wondered, “why have we spent money on bottled water rather than just drinking the water we used to cook this extravagant meal? Is my family not thankful for our community’s public water system?” My community, like so many rural and

With that being said, is the public, or tap, water in rural Louisiana so unsanitary that we can’t directly ingest it, or do Americans simply prefer the luxury of pre-bottled water?

Water sanitation in my community of Zwolle, Louisiana, is an exceedingly controversial issue. Historical data regarding the Town of Zwolle Water System includes: the system’s primary source of water comprises six groundwater wells throughout the Zwolle town limits. The 2013 Town of Zwolle Water System Consumer Confidence Report states, “Our constant goal is to provide you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water. We want you to understand the efforts we make to continually improve the water treatment process and protect our water resources. We are committed to ensuring the quality of your water.” While exploring the pressing matter of public water sanitation, I exposed numerous KSLA investigative news reports including the article, “Zwolle residents fed up with discolored water”.

As much as residents would like it to be a reality, crystal clear sparkling water spewing from the tap just is not plausible when dealing with a water supply that ranges in the millions of gallons. My recommendation for the issue of public water system safety in the town of Zwolle includes a major public awareness campaign. Ultimately, the residents of Zwolle are so fortunate to have access to bottled water. However, I feel that in order to distinguish any story of bias between bottled and tap water, the town of Zwolle Water Department should keep its residents informed. From containing amoeba to being completely safe for consumption, the public should be aware always of the state of their water supply. Building a relationship of confidence with the water department would lead to the public associating their tap water in the trusting same manner as their beloved bottled