GA2 Group Summaries

1. After discussing the water issues faced in Iraq, our group came to the consensus

that a few of the major difficulties with obtaining clean, resourceful water was

directly effected by the country's civil unrest. Because bodies are

periodically dumped into the country's two main rivers, the Euphrates and the

Tigris, and because water plants rarely have enough water filtering chemicals

due to dangerous shipping routes, the water is highly contaminated. The water

contamination leads to health issues for drinkers such as cholera, diarrhea,

and dysentery. Similarities in water problems exist for Iraq and California in

that both locations suffer from unhealthy tap water.

2. Haiti has very poor water resources and gets most water from the annual

rainfall. The water is contaminated and polluted which causes diseases, poor

health and many deaths. We concluded that arizona and Haiti both have water

issues in the sense that Arizona is a desert and is more scarce of getting

water, yet Haiti's water isn't filtered like Arizona's which is a bigger

problem.

3. Our group concluded that our country: Poland, and our state: Michigan had

similar issues with their fresh water supply. Both of these areas' water

supplies suffer from pollution and in both cases it is effecting human life. In

Poland and Michigan infant mortality rates have risen due to unhealthy water and

other illness have either developed or have worsened when the human population

is exposed to these poor water qualities. Both places, Poland and Michigan, are

putting into place new standards for water: Michigan being driven by the United

States government and Poland driven by the EU.

4. Romania and Wisconsin are facing similar water quality problems. Both locations

are having trouble controlling the excess amounts of nitrates and other

chemicals that have seeped into the ground water because of the extensive use

of fertilizers and pesticides in their respective agricultural sectors.

However, there is a significant difference between the health issues arising

from the water quality problems because of water control laws in the United

States. In Romania, bacteria infections are prevalent along with severe cases

of diarrhea that can lead to death; there is no evidence of similar widespread

issues in Wisconsin.

5. Human pollution was a main factor in determining the quality of water in both

our country(Nicaragua) and state(Ohio). Construction sediment gets into

streams, pesticides and chemicals from farms contaminate water and acid rain

lands on the natural resources. Both Ohio and Nicaragua have plenty of water

however management of the resources and pollution control will be the biggest

factor in the future availability of this very important resource.

6. We concluded that Louisiana and Greece did indeed have water problems

in common. Both had problems with the cleanliness of water, however, for very

different reasons. Greece has always had filtration problems that are now being

improved upon by improved technology and Louisiana's problem rises out of all

the damage that Hurricane Katrina did to southern Louisiana's water system.

Also, both have issues with water shortage; Greece has very little naturally

occurring fresh water and Louisiana has water shortage problems because of the

damage done by Hurricane Katrina.

7. When it comes to the water issues of Lithuania and Florida, contamination is the

common denominator. Both locations rely on several river basins for a their

fresh water supply, and high levels of impurities such as nitrogren and

cyanobacteria hinder its drinkability. Drought is also a problem Florida

faces, as it consumes multiple billions of gallons of water per day, and

increases in population at a rate of approximately 20% each ear. It has an

advantage over its European counterpart, however, as it possesses stronger

monetary resources to aide in the solution of the issue.

8. Our group was assigned to analyze the water of Egypt and Nevada. Egypt's only

freshwater source, the Nile River, suffers from pollution of all kinds and

needs to be better maintained to supply drinkable water to the rapidly growing

population. Similarly, Nevada faces possible water shortage issues in the

future because of the dry area that it is and because of its growing population

likewise to Egypt's.

9. Our group concluded that Morocco has very limited supply of water. However the

little water that they do have is contaminated with pesticides, iron and lead.

This effects not only drinking supply but also their ability to clean food. We

think that their water problem is similar to New Jersey’s because they too

struggle with iron contaminated water.

10. Group 10 concluded that both Ethiopia and Maine suffer from poor water quality.

However, the sources of contamination and the consequences that contamination

has on local populations are different. Ethiopia's water is heavily

contaminated with human and animal excreta, and water-related diseases such as

malaria, dysentery, diarrhea, scabies and trachoma are prevalent. Rivers in

Maine are contaminated with industrial waste, but most small communities rely

on local wells which can be fitted with filter systems.

11. Group 11 concluded that the lack of sewage treatment in Brazil and Mississippi

is an evident cause of health issues, such as bacterial infections. Although it

appears that water standards in Brazil are less strict than those of US

regulations, Mississippi and Brazil face water contamination issues which are

harmfully affecting citizens. Our group came to the consensus that similar

problems exist within both areas and water treatment problems need to be

addressed.

12. My group came to the conclusion that Kazakhstan and Texas both have one similar

problem with their water supply and that is drought. However, the difference

between these two is that Texas has the money to acquire water from other

locations and to purify their water. Kazakhstan is not so lucky and cannot

afford to clean their water and obtain any water from another location.

13. Our group found that Jamaica has a fairly effective water infrastructure that delivers clean water to 93% of citizens. However, water sources near industry centers often suffer from pollution, causing health problems for some inhabitants. We decided that Tennessee's water sources are somewhat cleaner, but are also negatively effected by human activity. Displaced sediment from mining and construction works its way into rivers and causes water supplies to be less pure.

14. Pakistan, with 60% of infant deaths due to water disease, differs greatly from

New York, the first state to set up a Water Conservation and Supply Program.

Pakistan is a war torn country that has poor water resources and a long list of

water related illnesses. New York and Pakistan have one characteristic in common

in regard to water resources. New York and Pakistan have an issue with

controlling ground water contamination in urban areas. Overall, Pakistan and

New York are not at all alike in water quality and resources.

15. Our group came to the conclusion that there were not many similarities between

the water problems in Madagascar related to the water problems in Massachusetts.

We found the lone similarity between the two was that eventually their

populations would get so big, they wouldn't have enough water to support the

entire populations needs. Being an island and a small state we can see that

their population might become too big soon.

Make-up: Throughout the time that our make-up group spent comparing and contrasting the water resources of France and Colorado, we found that the sanity and possible negative effects of both water systems were very similar. Both places have had no serious problems with the water that is provided there. The only negative aspect that pertains to both France and Colorado's water systems and the water produced is that, the water from both places contains nitrate. The nitrate is produced from Agricultural runoff and does not pose as a serious problem. Both places contain moderately clean water that is clean enough to drink straight from the tap.