BigQuestionEssay

EastHoelscher
4/29/16
English5th

Itsseennationwide,theofficialCodeEnforcementOfficersthatcontrolwhen
wecanrunoursprinklers,washourcars,andevenwaterpottedplants,alongwiththe
agentselusivelymonitoringourwaterquality.Manypeopledisagreewiththesevarious
practices,buttherearemanybenefitsthatresult.Inmyopinion,agovernmentshould
havetherighttomanagewateruse.
Onereasonthatagovernmentshouldhavetherighttomanagewateruseisto
protectourresourcesfromoveruse.InCalifornia,therearelawsthatensureallwater
useisreasonableduringdroughttohelpcombatwastedwater(WaterNews).Iagree
withtheStateofCaliforniaintheirreactivecontrolmethod.Inmyresearch,Ifoundthat
mostUSstatesandcitieseitherhavelaws/codestolimitwaterusebyspecifyingwho
canusewaterwhen,orhaveapermitsystemthatsetsacertainamountofwaterthat
canbeused(CityofAustin,WashingtonState).Whileallmanagementsystemsare
designedtobeeffectiveinprotectingourwater,Ifeelsomemaybemoreeffectivethan
others.Inmyopinion,Californiassystemofcasebycaseinvestigationsisfarmore
scrutinizingthansystemssimilartoAustins,whererulesaremorelenientlyenforced.
Allgovernmentsthatarecurrentlyrestrictingtheirpopulationswaterusearegreatly
helpingtoreducetheoveruseofourmostpreciousresource,therefore,Ifeelthat
governmentsshouldcontinuetohavetherighttomanagetheirpopulationswater
usage.
Anotherreasonagovernmentshouldcontrolwateruseisthatgovernmental
organizationshelptoensurewaterqualityremainsacceptable.Forexample,theUnited
StatesGovernmenthasabranchdevotedsolelytoprotectingourland,water,andother
resources,theEnvironmentalProtectionAgency.Thisagencyhelpstomonitorthe
qualityofsourcewater,anywaterbodyinwhichdrinkingwaterispulledfrom,inthe
UnitedStates(EPA).Inaddition,theEPAdevelopsandimplementsplansforpollution
controlandreductioninareaswithsuchissues(EPA).Inmyopinion,theEPAssystem
ofpollutionmanagementisverybeneficialtotheenvironment.Iftherewerenosystem
inplace,ourgroundwater,streams,lakes,andoceanswouldbefarmorepollutedand
potentiallyunusable.
Governmentsshouldalsocontrolwatertoensurethehealthofitscitizens.One
exampleofagovernmentfailingtotakeactiononwatercontrol,whichledtolarge
consequences,istheFlint,MichiganWaterCrisis.InFlint,thelocalgovernmenthad
priorlyapprovedandimplementedanewwateracquisitionplan,pullingwaterdirectly
fromtheriverlocally,insteadofpurchasingitfromothercities(Rappleyeetal).

Negativehealtheffectsandwatertestsbegantoappear,alongwithvisibleissues,
includingfoaminessandcloudiness(Rappleyeetal).Asmorechemicalsbeginto
appearinthewater,itiseventuallydeclaredthatthewaterisunusable(Rappleyeetal).
Astateofemergencyisalsodeclared,andresidentsareforcedtosolelyusebottled
waterforeverydaytasks(Rappleyeetal,McMillan).IftheCityofFlintweretomore
effectivelymanageandtesttheirlocalwaterpriortospendingmoneyrefurbishing
outdatedinfrastructure,thiscrisiscouldhavebeenaverted.Furthermore,ifconstant
testingwereperformed(andtakenseriously)andresidentscomplaintsmorethoroughly
investigated,theissuescouldhavebeenresolved(oratleastadvisedupon)farsooner,
potentiallyreducingthesickness,economicloss,andhardshipexperiencedbyFlints
residents.Overall,governmentsshouldhavethemotivationandauthoritytomanage
waterinordertoprotecttheircitizens.
Theideaofclosemonitoringandmanagementofresourcesbyagovernmentis
notsolelylimitedtowater,itappliesuniversallytoallresources.Itisimportantto
rememberthat,likewater,otherresourcescanbeoverused,destroyed,andmustbe
protectedtoo.Howeverintrudingagovernmentmayseemwhileprotectingresources,it
mustbeunderstoodthatifactionisn'ttakennow,ourresourcescouldbediminished(if
notentirelydestroyed)inthenotsodistantfuture.Ichallengeyoutoimaginehowthe
worldwouldlookthroughtheeyesofourchildrenandgrandchildren,whatwouldyou
wantittolooklike?Whatifourfuelsaredepleted?Orourriversandlakesturnedto
barren,crackedearth?Isthatthefutureyouwant?Ichallengeyoutotakeactiontohelp
ensurewehaveahealthyenvironmentalongwithpeopletopopulateit,now,andinthe
futurebyallowingourelectedleaderscontrolwater(andotherresource)useforthe
bettermentofsociety.

WorksCited

McMillan,Tracie."WhatIt'sLiketoLiveWithOnlyBottledWater."
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EPA
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Rappleye,Riordan,andConnor."BadDecisions,BrokenPromises:ATimelineofthe
FlintWaterCrisis."
NBCNews
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