I row on the Allegheny River every day of the week, and every day I witness the

same horror; pollution. The trash I have seen before is disturbing, including car tires,
windows, hay bales, and even dead deer. The terrible part of the pollution is that it is not
just the Allegheny river, but the Ohio and Monongahela too. The thought that the rivers
are polluted is not just an idea, but it is a fact. For example, PennEnvironment stated,
The Monongahela was ranked number nine on the America's Most Endangered Rivers
list (Top Ten). The effects are real, and they are worsening every day. The pollution of
Pittsburghs river is appalling, yet it can be fixed through planning and organizing
cleanups.
The first main problem with the water pollution in the Ohio, Allegheny, and
Monongahela rivers is that the polluted water can cause health effects to those who
drink and swim in the water. Research has shown that 93% of the United States
surface water is polluted (Solar H2O Kinetics). There have been issues in the past with
sewage discharge being dumped into the rivers. This was a problem to the public
because this was where the city drew its water supply. Pittsburgh has been said to be
adding chlorine to the water in order to make the river water drinkable for the
community. Chlorine is said to kill the bacteria, algae, viruses, and other
microorganisms, preventing waterborne diseases. However, chlorine can create
carcinogenic compounds, which causes cancer, if it interacts with organic substances
sometimes found in the water, said Stephen Horvath (Pittsburgh Water Authority).
These contaminants pose potential health risks to the public, especially infants and
children and other vulnerable populations. This is becoming a bigger issue due to the
increasing levels of bromide due to fracking, which is a way to extract oil or gas from a
layer of rock by drilling and creating cracks. Statistics show that 83% of all disease in
developing countries is spread by consuming unsafe water (Solar H2O Kinetics).
According to a 2013 study from Unicef, 2,200 children die each day as a result of
drinking dirty, contaminated, water (11 Facts). In conclusion, the water in Pittsburgh is
unsafe.
The second main issue with Pittsburghs water pollution is that the pollution
largely affects the aquatic creatures in the rivers and organisms that use the rivers for a
food source. For example, in the Ohio River, the state has issued fish consumption
advisories for carp and catfish due to the population of these organisms decreasing
dramatically due to the water pollution (Ohio). These species are in danger of
becoming extinct in the river if they are caught by fisherman. Also, in the Allegheny
river, the population of darterfish has gone down by 20% due to the pollution in the river
(Trib). The pollution causes the oxygen supply to diminish causing the darter fish to
suffocate and die. The darter fish have become endangered and now need to be
watched closely so they dont become extinct. Another example is how many
organisms larva and eggs are dieing before hatching due to the pollution. Certain
companies dumping hot water used for cooling into the rivers cause the temperatures in
the rivers to increase causing the eggs and larva to overheat and die (Long Term). This
causes the populations of the organisms to decrease and prevents them from adding to
their population in order to level out for the losses. Many of the other organisms in the
rivers are suffocating just like the darter fish like catfish and carp. Finally, one of the
biggest problems is that is disrupts the food chain when certain species are affected by
the pollution and die. For example, in each ecosystem, each and every organism has a
predator and something that it hunts. When its prey starts to die off quickly and
unnaturally, the population that hunts that organism has a food shortage which causes
them to start to starve and die (McGlothern). This sets off a chain reaction which causes
organisms overpopulate and then over time some become extinct in that area.
The major cause of the Pittsburgh rivers water pollution is dumping and runoff
into the river. Many companies and plants have been caught dumping or letting
chemical runoff into the rivers. For example, U.S. Steel had dumped 2.4 million pounds
of toxic waste into the Monongahela River, and the company is known as the largest
polluters in Pittsburgh (10 Million). Also, the PPG Industry was letting mercury runoff
into small streams that lead into the Ohio River, and has records of dumping 32 pounds
of it in into the river in 2004 (Mercury Pollution). Additionally, not only is there runoff
and dumping of chemicals into the water, but there is also sewage runoff. When there
is rain, the pipes get overflowed with water and the waste flows into the nearest river
(Pittsburghs Plan). The Clean Rivers Campaign writes Our rivers become so fouled
with waste from these sewer overflows that its unsafe to even touch the water for
roughly half of each years boating season (Pittsburghs Wet). All in all, the pollution in
the Pittsburgh rivers is caused by materials being dumped into the river.
The pollution of the three rivers of Pittsburgh is a major problem for the city and
needs to be stopped. There are many possible solutions for this, but we believe that this
solution will be the best. Our idea is that if we raise enough awareness about this
problem, more people will be conscious about it and want to take action to change it.
The American Rivers organization states that, As we approach the 40th anniversary of
this [Clean Rivers Act] important law, many of our rivers remain polluted by urban and
agricultural runoff and sewer overflows, and almost half of our streams are in poor
health (American Rivers). We need to educate people about this law and how the
dumping is illegal. We also need to inform them on how to clean up the river, then go
out in boats and clean the rivers. An experienced environmental activist would be the
best person to lead our fight against water pollution. They would know a lot of
information about the effects of water pollution on the environment and people. The
majority of the group would be student activists because if people see that children are
aware and involved in helping, they would be more inclined to help. An organization that
could help with funding our mission to raise awareness would be Three Rivers
Waterkeeper. This organization watches the looks into pollution of the rivers, and holds
polluters accountable for their action (Three Rivers). In conclusion, when we reach our
goal of raising awareness, we guarantee that more people will take part in preventing
and cleaning the rivers.
The idea that raising awareness to group together and clean up the rivers is a
realistic thought. Other campaigns have raised awareness and helped in the cleanup of
nature. For example, the organization called Beach Sweep is an organization in New
Jersey that has the goal of cleaning the coast of New Jersey. They have raised
awareness and have spoke out about their campaign. Their efforts to be heard have
been victorious. The website states, The New Jersey Senate Environment and Energy
Committee unanimously passed a resolution opposing the proposed offshore facility
Port Ambrose (Update). Environment Ohio is another organization that is sick of
Congress letting companies dump in Lake Erie. They have started an organization in
their community to raise awareness and fight back at Congress to save their river. They
have had much success in doing so. (Environment Ohio). Even though both
organizations are in other states, a campaign or an organization here in Pittsburgh
could raise just as much awareness on the topic of river pollution. The common thought
is that an idea that is proposed by students will be looked down upon. But, there are
many examples of teenagers creating ideas that make changes. For instance, a
teenager name Julia Bluhm used her skills to have people group together and fight back
against altered images in the media (7 Inspiring). Even though she was just a teenager,
there were many people with the same feelings on the subject that could make a
difference. There are many people who know the facts about water pollution, and want
to fight back, not to mention the people that could be educated about it. All in all, raising
awareness and grouping together to do river cleanups is not just a fantasy, but could be
in the near future.
In conclusion, though the effects of the Pittsburgh river pollution is disturbing,
more people should take part in their community and become more aware of water
pollution near them. The more people that know about the river pollution around them,
the more likely they are to make a change in the environment. The pollution is awful in
the rivers, but with our plan of action to raise awareness, we can drastically lessen the
effects and amount of pollution. You can make a large difference in your neighborhood
of Pittsburgh by simply raising awareness and taking part in partitions or organizations.
Just like the Beach Sweep in New Jersey, we could become successful in preventing
river pollution with more people who are willing to help out their local community.
According to the SC Johnson company, about 48% of people are unsure or don't know
what the future holds when it comes to addressing environmental issues (SC Johnson).
We can make a future of clean rivers in Pittsburgh, and have a good environment for
others if we clean the rivers. All in all, though the rivers of Pittsburgh are polluted,
people could join together and fight back against the trash and chemicals.