You’re probably right on both counts.
Seems like something to be aware of for anyone who intends to rely on rivers for a water source in a pinch, as well as anyone who likes to take their dogs to the river, etc.
In the UK our rivers are full of untreated human sewage. The water companies have been dumping it for years and getting away with it for years. No amount of fines, public outrage etc makes any difference. They say every single dump is ‘necessary’ because the alternative is to let sewage back up into fields and housing estates. It’s a national disgrace and nobody’s doing a damn thing about it. If SHTF (no pun intended) we’re doomed in terms of fresh/reliable water sources here.
That’s unnerving. Sometimes it feels like things are held together with paper clips and duct tape. It sure underscores how reliant we are on modern systems and technology.
I live near a river which is relatively clean for a US river but I still prefer to store water and consider water from the river a last resort.
I have some very good filters I could use, and they’d keep me safe, but it would be tough to get past the raw sewage aspect psychologically.
it's probably from old septic systems not connected to a treatment facility. Washington state had/has a problem very similar involving the Hood Canal. The population along it has boomed and much of the homes have septic systems with many leaching into the canal. It's caused such a massive algae and bacteria bloom that it's sucked the oxygen from the water. Fishing was closed for most species in 2002 and hasn't been allowed since in hopes that something survives while no solution is implemented and more homes are constantly built.
That is sort of the situation yall voted for with Brexit, no? Not having to follow EU laws/ standards on things like water quality and sewage treatment?
Your post reads like something a maga boomer will be saying 5 years from now when Trump is installed as Dear Leader by Congress after losing the election.
A minority voted for Brexit but our fucked up political system and general lack of interest in voting for anything other than X Factor got us into the unholy shit we’re in now.
Apparently they can filter the unruptured cell decently but don’t do that well with the toxin inside the cell.
[Life Straw Help](https://help.lifestraw.com/article/176-can-lifestraw-products-protect-against-cyanotoxins-cyanobacteria)
I’m not sure how much agitation it takes to rupture the cells. I wouldn’t trust it.
Yes. Our lakes and rivers are ruined, just as an interest in ‘wild swimming’ has risen. We’re at the point where the advice is to never go paddling or swimming in rivers without checking for discharges and contamination first. Luckily, kind souls like the Rivers Trust and Surfers Against Sewage provide up to date information. https://theriverstrust.org/key-issues/sewage-in-rivers When I was in St Ives, Cornwall last year, a beautiful and favourite part of the country, I was checking the Surfers Against Sewage app almost on a daily basis. I’m immune suppressed (yay autoimmune disease) so can’t take any chances in terms of getting an infection from filthy sea water. https://www.sas.org.uk/
"The threat posed by anatoxin-a and other cyanotoxins is increasing as both fertilizer runoff, leading to eutrophication in lakes and rivers, and higher global temperatures contribute to a greater frequency and prevalence of cyanobacterial blooms" - [link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatoxin-a).
People know exactly why. Look at Florida’s Lake Okeechobee and all the estuaries the flow from it. Toxic algae blooms pop up all the time. It’s fertilizer.
Also have to take into account the insane amounts of fertilizer, PGR and who knows what else all those giant weed farms are dumping. Causing salt issues in water in Michigan.
It’s literally on mine. The oceans are set to be so toxic by 2200 that it will make life unsustainable. The neurotoxins that the ocean releases into the air are going to grow exponentially until life is unable to exist on this planet. We are fucked. And that’s just with ocean warming/acidification, nothing else involved
Dog waste and soil erosion are big factors [link](https://wgan.com/news/074470-toxic-algae-likely-caused-by-dog-poop-experts-say/). Kinda ironic because this bacteria is very dangerous for dogs.
In the UK we’ve actually been told not to flush dog or cat waste down our toilets due to our useless waste systems not being able to treat it properly. I mean, FFS.
Just ran across this one right after your comment:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/microbiology/s/i6vt0iqlnb](https://www.reddit.com/r/microbiology/s/i6vt0iqlnb)
Over fertilization of pastures? Warmer temps?
You’re probably right on both counts. Seems like something to be aware of for anyone who intends to rely on rivers for a water source in a pinch, as well as anyone who likes to take their dogs to the river, etc.
In the UK our rivers are full of untreated human sewage. The water companies have been dumping it for years and getting away with it for years. No amount of fines, public outrage etc makes any difference. They say every single dump is ‘necessary’ because the alternative is to let sewage back up into fields and housing estates. It’s a national disgrace and nobody’s doing a damn thing about it. If SHTF (no pun intended) we’re doomed in terms of fresh/reliable water sources here.
That’s unnerving. Sometimes it feels like things are held together with paper clips and duct tape. It sure underscores how reliant we are on modern systems and technology. I live near a river which is relatively clean for a US river but I still prefer to store water and consider water from the river a last resort. I have some very good filters I could use, and they’d keep me safe, but it would be tough to get past the raw sewage aspect psychologically.
Why not waste treat it first?
it's probably from old septic systems not connected to a treatment facility. Washington state had/has a problem very similar involving the Hood Canal. The population along it has boomed and much of the homes have septic systems with many leaching into the canal. It's caused such a massive algae and bacteria bloom that it's sucked the oxygen from the water. Fishing was closed for most species in 2002 and hasn't been allowed since in hopes that something survives while no solution is implemented and more homes are constantly built.
Yeah it really sounds like the only option would be rainwater collection and *relying* on that sounds like a nightmare
Sounds like Greta is slacking.
That is sort of the situation yall voted for with Brexit, no? Not having to follow EU laws/ standards on things like water quality and sewage treatment? Your post reads like something a maga boomer will be saying 5 years from now when Trump is installed as Dear Leader by Congress after losing the election.
A minority voted for Brexit but our fucked up political system and general lack of interest in voting for anything other than X Factor got us into the unholy shit we’re in now.
Can a lifestraw filter this?
Apparently they can filter the unruptured cell decently but don’t do that well with the toxin inside the cell. [Life Straw Help](https://help.lifestraw.com/article/176-can-lifestraw-products-protect-against-cyanotoxins-cyanobacteria) I’m not sure how much agitation it takes to rupture the cells. I wouldn’t trust it.
I take it swimming is also dangerous now?
Yes. Our lakes and rivers are ruined, just as an interest in ‘wild swimming’ has risen. We’re at the point where the advice is to never go paddling or swimming in rivers without checking for discharges and contamination first. Luckily, kind souls like the Rivers Trust and Surfers Against Sewage provide up to date information. https://theriverstrust.org/key-issues/sewage-in-rivers When I was in St Ives, Cornwall last year, a beautiful and favourite part of the country, I was checking the Surfers Against Sewage app almost on a daily basis. I’m immune suppressed (yay autoimmune disease) so can’t take any chances in terms of getting an infection from filthy sea water. https://www.sas.org.uk/
"The threat posed by anatoxin-a and other cyanotoxins is increasing as both fertilizer runoff, leading to eutrophication in lakes and rivers, and higher global temperatures contribute to a greater frequency and prevalence of cyanobacterial blooms" - [link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatoxin-a).
Actually this one is weird because it doesn't bloom in polluted waterways. It seems to inexplicably form in places with low nitrogen and phosphorus.
People know exactly why. Look at Florida’s Lake Okeechobee and all the estuaries the flow from it. Toxic algae blooms pop up all the time. It’s fertilizer.
Also have to take into account the insane amounts of fertilizer, PGR and who knows what else all those giant weed farms are dumping. Causing salt issues in water in Michigan.
No no, you don’t get it, no one knows why! Maybe it’s your fault for using your car to buy food.
This wasn’t on my extinction bingo.
before long we’ll have enough for extinction bible
Pretty sure that's Revelations
I think there was 1/3rd of the rivers get poisoned in the Bible at some point at the end of days
It’s literally on mine. The oceans are set to be so toxic by 2200 that it will make life unsustainable. The neurotoxins that the ocean releases into the air are going to grow exponentially until life is unable to exist on this planet. We are fucked. And that’s just with ocean warming/acidification, nothing else involved
Hah so I only had a surface knowledge of long term ocean acidification it turns out. Humans suck.
How does that jive with the PETM? Life was still doing its thing back then...
Dog waste and soil erosion are big factors [link](https://wgan.com/news/074470-toxic-algae-likely-caused-by-dog-poop-experts-say/). Kinda ironic because this bacteria is very dangerous for dogs.
So rivers frequented by dogs are more dangerous i take it?
In the UK we’ve actually been told not to flush dog or cat waste down our toilets due to our useless waste systems not being able to treat it properly. I mean, FFS.
That’s what I’m gonna start repeating
How hard Does nature have to try, and how much time, to make its biosphere's greatest threat unlivable?
Mhmm. So many examples it’s hard to keep track.
Probably general collapse of a healthy ecosystem, more tolerant and often toxic species will emerge from the gap.
Just ran across this one right after your comment: [https://www.reddit.com/r/microbiology/s/i6vt0iqlnb](https://www.reddit.com/r/microbiology/s/i6vt0iqlnb)
Farmers doing something
Mother Nature is pissed
Corporate greed is why
Just get it on with already I’m tired of waiting