SALT & WATER

 

Rust Never Sleeps
  The skies are growing darker, as are the forecasts, and soon snow will be falling. Salt flakes will also fill the air, and later the water. Not just our vehicles are affected. 
   Concern about salt pollution was raised in two articles that came out around the same time last spring and I happened to notice them; one was about Muskoka to the north of us and the other New York state to the south. Consider this another public service announcement (PSA).

   "Muskoka First in Ontario to Call for Provincial Action on Road Salt Pollution: Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition Also Raising Issue with Conservation Authority, City of Barrie, Town of Georgina" Staff, Orillia Matters - news release, Mar. 19, 2025. Here are some of the important bits:

   "As the dust settles from the provincial election, Muskoka is wasting no time when it comes to tackling road salt impacts.  On Monday, Muskoka became the first Ontario jurisdiction to pass a resolution declaring the need for provincial action on salt pollution from road salt. The District of Muskoka council passed a resolution which asks the province to both advance limited liability for the snow and ice management sector and to create a stakeholder advisory committee to advise the province on managing salt pollution in Ontario’s lakes and rivers.he resolution was initiated and moved by Muskoka District chair Jeff Lehman, who issued the following statement: “The district is pleased to work with local cottage associations, the landscaping industry, and environmental groups to help mitigate the impacts of salt and ensure the right amount is used in the right way in the right places. Building on previous district work and commitments, we look forward to continuing to improve lake health and provide leadership in reducing the environmental impact of road salt in Muskoka.”...  
   Ontario is Canada’s No. 1 user of winter salt, applying approximately two million to three million tonnes of salt each winter. Road salt is a known toxic substance designated under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act because of tangible threats including serious, irreversible environmental and public health damages. Other impacts to drinking water sources, critical public infrastructure (roads, bridges, buildings), and private property are also important concerns.  Currently, there are no provincial policies or regulations for road salts, including no salt use standards, required training, enforcement mechanisms, or protections against salt pollution.... 
   Municipalities, conservation authorities, non-governmental organizations, and businesses alike have been warning about the growing impact of salt pollution and oversalting for decades, to no avail. Now, they’re banding together to ensure this issue gets the attention and action it needs.
   The reaction to this move was positive and more details are provided in: "Very positive response’: Residents’ Group Applauds Muskoka Council’s Decision on Road Salt Issue: Resolution Aims to Reduce Usage While Ensuring Road and Sidewalk Safety Concerns About ncreasing Chloride Levels in Lakes rompted Action," Brent Cooper, Muskokaregion.com., March 22, 2025:
   "A representative from a Muskoka group concerned with the region’s environment is applauding a District of Muskoka move to tackle the ongoing issue of road salt in area lakes.
Here’s what you need to know
Jim Davis, who is a director with the Gull and Silver Lakes Residents’ Association, is praising the district council’s passing of a resolution on March 17, which commits its ongoing efforts toward the reduction of road salt as much as possible, while maintaining safety on roads and sidewalks.“Protecting the water quality of our lakes is the No. 1 concern for our association,” he said after the March meeting. “The continued use of road salt, resulting in every-increasing chloride levels, poses a serious threat to the lake health of Gull and Silver Lakes, and lakes throughout Muskoka. The resolution passed by district council is a very positive response to an environmental problem that is entirely man-made.”

The New York State Salt Situation
    Here is the other article, which indicates that the problem is widespread in snowy northern regions:
   "Salty Suburban Roads Are Clouding the Future of N.Y.C. Drinking Water: A new environmental report finds that rising salt levels in New York City’s water supply could make some of it undrinkable by the turn of the century," Hilary Howard, New York Times, March 25, 2025.
   "Road salt is leaching into the reservoirs that hold New York City’s tap water and could make some of it unhealthy to drink by the turn of the century, according to a new study commissioned by city environmental officials….“We just need people who operate roads to start realizing that this is a chemical that we are adding to our environment, and we have to take that seriously,” Mr. Aggarwala said.
Road salt is cheap and plentiful, but it is also dangerous for the environment and corrosive for infrastructure. New York City’s pristine tap water is a source of pride among residents and local leaders. Most of it, about 90 percent, comes from rural areas in the Catskill Mountains, a range that extends more than 125 miles north of New York City. It represents the largest unfiltered water supply in the United States."
   The study mentioned is this one and it has a literature review: “Salinity Management Assessment”, Bureau of Water Supply, NYC Dept. of Environmental Protection, March 21, 2025,  35 page pdf.

  The solutions to the salt situation are not obvious and the prohibition of it would likely make some people in the Goderich area unhappy. 
Some Salt Sources:
   ONTARIO SALT POLLUTION COALITION
   WATER WATCHERS

                                                       WATER

   More recently, the problem is not salty water, but the shortage of drinking water. Just two examples from the east and the west:

  "What Happens When the Well Runs Dry? After Months of Drought, Nova Scotians are Finding Out," Barry Rueger, Special to The Globe and Mail, Oct.1, 2025
and:
  "As Water Dries up in Northeast B.C., Some Want Industry Paying More to Pump the Precious Resource," Matt Preprost,CBC, Nov. 2, 2025.
   Of course, out in B.C. the salmon are also affected by the salt:
"B.C. Researchers Find Road Salt Most Toxic to Salmon During 24 hours After Egg Fertilization; The updated research reveals how road salt is also having a negative effect on developing chum salmon," Tiffany Crawford, Vancouver Sun, Nov. 2, 2025.

The Bonus:
  I generally make fun of the notion of "breaking news", but these stories just broke as this was being written, the point being that, the lack of water is even a local problem.
 " $400M Water Upgrade Needed as St. Thomas Industrial Boom Spikes Demand: If the provincial government does not help, water users, including homeowners and businesses, will pay more," London Free Press, Nov.6, 2025.
  ‘We Were Not Expecting it for Another 30 Years’: $400 million water plant expansion for PowerCo could sink municipal finances," Byan Bicknell, CTV News, Nov.6, 2025

Artificial Intelligence for the Unintelligent

 A.I. For Dummies - That Would Include Me
   If, like me, you are confused by a 'word' like "ChatGPT", or feel very small when the subject of large language models surfaces, then this post is for you. Or, if you are puzzled by headlines, such as these, then this post is for you: "Tens of Thousands of White-Collar Jobs Are Vanishing as AI Starts to Bite," or "From Mexico to Ireland: Fury Mounts Over a Global A.I. Frenzy". Plus, there are even more puzzling ones about "Sycophantic A.I. Chatbots" and "A.I. Hallucinations". Even the headlines that are pleasing (for a very small some), can be puzzling for the rest of us: 'Nvidia Is Now Worth $5 Trillion as It Consolidates Power in A.I. Boom." Or, maybe you have heard of this book and are worried, because the title clearly suggests we should be -- If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All. 
   Well, I did recently see two cartoons which illustrate clearly to a dummy like me, that there are two things AI relies upon that we should really be concerned about:

1.

2.
 

Sources (and more)

  The top cartoon is from The Guardian. The bottom one is from a New Yorker. This also is from the New Yorker:" A single data center can use as much power as the city of Philadelphia. And they’re popping up everywhere. These sprawling buildings, filled with rows of computing equipment, are the factories of the A.I. economy; they power all those mundane chatbot searches, sucking up tons of energy in the process."

Line 5 (again) and Bill 5

  It is highly likely that lately you have been rather distracted. As a way to get back to work, I will make a short public service announcement about two issues to which we should be paying more attention. 

Hot Water
  Line 5 is a big pipeline carrying lots of oil under the top of the Great Lakes. MM has already covered this issue and if you look at the links below you will even find a map. One of the reasons for your inattention to some important current issues probably has to do with President Trump. Unfortunately he is even involved with this one, but you might have missed it.
   You can start here: "US Army Engineers Decide to Fast-track Great Lakes Tunnel Permits Under Trump Energy Emergency Order," Todd Richmond, AP, April 16, 2025. 
 "The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has decided to fast-track permits for building a protective tunnel around an aging Enbridge oil pipeline that runs beneath a channel connecting two Great Lakes, stoking environmentalists’ fears that the project will escape scrutiny, damage the sensitive region and perpetuate fossil fuel use. The move comes after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in January declaring that the U.S. has become too dependent on foreign energy sources. The order mandates that federal agencies identify energy infrastructure projects for expedited emergency permitting from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency."

  The few Canadian newspapers have only provided a few stories about what could be a major problem and they are also distracted. For example, a quick search of the G&M yielded first a few articles about 'lines' and 'fives' in hockey games, but at least they did report on the report above: U.S. Army Corps Fast-tracks Permitting Process for Contentious Enbridge Pipeline in Michigan," Patrick White, April 16, 2025. 

BILL 5
  This relates to potential legislative action here in Ontario, so surely you missed it because of the hockey games. Here is the official source for information, the title of which is rather different from the next ones provided.
Bill 5, Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025
Lecce, Hon. Stephen Minister of Energy and Mines.

Bill 5 Would End Endangered Species Protections and Attack Clean Energy: Ontario is Scaling Back Species at Risk Protections, Worrying Advocates and Inviting Federal Intervention: New rules narrow habitat definition, remove protections for some species, no longer require recovery plans, Inayat Singh, CBC, April 30, 2025.

   You be the judge. 

The Bonus: 
   We should be paying more attention to WATER. Here is a question about it that was recently asked: "Will We Have to Pump the Great Lakes to California to Feed the Nation?". Jay Famiglietti, NYT, Aug. 5, 2024. You will have to find the answer yourself.
  And, some pure CANCON: "This Region Nearly Ran Out of Water. Locals and Experts Say Other Canadian Towns Should Pay Attention: B.C.’s Sunshine Coast Declared a State of Emergency Due to Drought in 2022." Elizabeth Hoath, CBC Radio, April 27, 2025.

Sources:
  About Line 5 in MM:
Line 5.
Oddments (1)
Line 5 Again

Olde Posts Addenda (4)

 More "Breaking News" to add to the older news items already provided in Mulcahy's Miscellany. 

Excessive Drinking - OF WATER!
   Back in 2021 I questioned whether we really needed to carry a large bottle of water with us when we drove to the 7-Eleven to get a Slurpee (see "Hydration: Going Against the Current.") I don't get out much, but apparently students are still putting canteens in their backpacks and carrying large water jugs for the short distance between seminars.
   This was noticed by Frank Bruni who writes for The New York Times. When he was asked to characterize the students at Duke, where he teaches, he offered this description in his weekly newsletter. He makes the point I was trying to make in my hydration post, but he does a better job, which is why he writes for the NYT and I don't. It is really quite good and is found in the Newsletter on Nov.21, 2024:

   "What’s most remarkable about my students isn’t their wokeness or pre-professionalism. It’s their sogginess. They drink water constantly. They carry water everywhere. If the young people who fought in World War II were the Greatest Generation, the young people pursuing their bachelor’s degrees today are the Moistest one. They live on the cusp of some imagined desert, beside an oasis that’s their last call.

Sometimes I glance at the desks in a lecture hall or the big table in a seminar room and think I’m looking at an art exhibit of Exotic Cylinders. There are improbably tall, slender water vessels and squatter, wider ones, though almost all taper at the base, the better to fit into the cup holders of cars and cardio equipment. They are shiny and matte, turquoise and lavender, their provenance imprinted on them in distinctive fonts. Here a Corkcicle or an Owala, there a Stanley or a Yeti.

Those brand names are a clue that part of what I’m seeing is pure commercialism: If you build it, they will fill it with water. Canny entrepreneurs have turned the frumpy canteens of yesteryear, associated with cowboys and mountaineers, into the spiffy fashion statements of today, dangling from student knapsacks and essential for any vigorous Peloton session.

But there’s more to it than that. There are principles, politics: The refillable Hydro Flask or ThermoFlask replaces the disposable plastic receptacle and represents scrupulous stewardship of the environment. There are economics: A beloved, portable vessel with water from a tap obviates an Evian or a Dasani from the convenience store refrigerator case.

And there is self-care, an ineluctable phrase that didn’t exist — or had negligible exposure — when I attended college. My students correctly wager that health-wise, including skin-wise, hydration is best, so lugging around liquid sustenance is a kind of personal optimization. It abets peak performance. Along with a dewy complexion.

I reflect on my desiccated youth — when there were old-style water fountains rather than newfangled water stations, and I had to bend over and slurp up enough to last me several hours — and feel foolish and cheated, the improbable survivor of a parched and primitive time. I now understand why my fellow boomers and I made a mess of the world, and the generations after ours should cut us some slack. We were thirsty."

Excessive Eating - The Obesity Epidemic
  More recently in, "Weighing In" obesity was observed and proof is now offered in: "Three-Quarters of U.S. Adults Are Now Overweight or Obese: A Sweeping New Paper Revels the Dramatic Rise of Obesity Rates Nationwide Since 1990," Nina Agrawal, The New York Times, Nov. 14, 2024. Definitions are offered for the plus-sized people and I will have to check and see if I belong to that growing crowd:The paper defined “overweight” adults as those who were age 25 and over with a body mass index at or over 25, and “obese” adults as those with a B.M.I. at or over 30.
The "sweeping new paper" is found in The Lancet, "National-level and state-level prevalence of overweight and obesity among children, adolescents, and adults in the USA, 1990–2021, and forecasts up to 20," Nov. 14, 2024. "Over the past several decades, the overweight and obesity epidemic in the USA has resulted in a significant health and economic burden. Understanding current trends and future trajectories at both national and state levels is crucial for assessing the success of existing interventions and informing future health policy changes."

More Metals  At Costco - Now You Can Also Buy Platinum
   

   Oddly enough, when I complete this post I will likely have spent as much time writing about Costco as shopping there. Although they are getting out of the book business (see:"More Bad News For Books"), you can find on their shelves, gold(see: "Gold At Costco!!) and silver (see: "Hi Ho Silver??) to take to your compound when the apocalypse arrives. You will have food that lasts years if you have also purchased "Readywise, Costco's Emergency Food Kit" (see: "Evidence of End Times at Costco?".)
   "The sales of silver and gold are going well and now Costco is offering bars of platinum. The Costco website lists the item as a one-ounce (roughly 28.3 grams) 999.5 pure platinum bar “with a proof-like finish.”  The bars bear the image of Lady Fortuna, the Roman goddess of luck and good fortune – an image also on some of Costco’s gold bars. Customers will need a Costco membership to buy these bars. Unlike most other products available at Costco, however, you can’t buy this one in bulk. There is a limit of one transaction per membership, with a maximum of five units per member. The bars are also non-refundable."
For more see: "Platinum Rush? Costco Is Selling a New Precious Metal in the U.S." Uday, Rana, Global News, Oct. 4, 2024.

BOOZE At Costco For Ontarians
  While platinum is not yet available to us, we can now purchase, beer, wine, champagne and some 'soft' mixed cocktails at Costco, but not the hard stuff. For that, we will still have to go to the LCBO, but it is not yet clear what we do with all of the empty containers. See: "Ontario's 41 Costco Locations Can Sell Alcohol As Of Oct. 31, 2024," CBC News, Oct. 30, 2024. 

Happy Thanksgiving to Those In the U.S. 
   You have a lot to be thankful for - platinum at Costco, for example. Eat that turkey, but begin a diet in the new year.

Beyond the Palewall (8)

 

Coming Soon Next to the Shawarma Shop Near You: A Private Clinic

   If you need a knee or hip replaced, you may be able to soon hobble down the street and get one, or two, or even four. Our government announced that more private options were being made available and that news was nicely conveyed by the Canadian correspondent for the New York Times: The Growing Private-Sector Involvement in Canadian Public Health Care Systems," Canada Letter, Ian Austen,

January 20, 2024.

This week, the provincial government in Ontario announced that it was expanding the number of private clinics providing medical services.

Right now, Ontario has about 900 such clinics, and they mostly offer medical imaging and cataract surgeries. Sylvia Jones, the province’s health minister, said this week that the government was expanding its program to include hip and knee replacements.

The province is being careful not to violate the Canada Health Act by requiring people to pay for medically necessary procedures. That would jeopardize the 20 billion Canadian dollars the province will receive this year from the federal government for health care. While the clinics will be privately operated, their procedures will be covered under the provincial health care plan as if they had been performed in public hospitals.

Ms. Jones said that the expansion would allow more such procedures to be performed and that doing so would cut wait times for patients. Her critics say it will further undermine the public system, that it may actually increase wait times and that it is a step toward full privatization of health care.

   You may not be able to read the NYT article, but you can read this 36 page report which has just been released: "The Scope and Nature of Private Healthcare in Canada," by Katherine Fierlbeck. It is published by the C.D. Howe Institute.
 A serious subject which I should not treat so lightly.

Boil Water Advisory in the Nation's Capital

   Not in Ottawa, but Washington. I mentioned in "Water Woes" that, soon we are all likely to  be very thirsty.  A recent headline indicated that it is true, even in D.C., where a great deal of water is needed for the scotches. In this article, one learns that even the citizens in the ritzy areas (Chevy Chase, Bethesda) were likely to experience problems. Apparently these city dwellers need advice that is much clearer than the water: “Do not drink the water without boiling it first,” the D.C. Water said in an alert issued Friday evening. (The water should be allowed to cool before drinking it.) ("Many Residents of Northern D.C. Are Asked to Boil Water," Martin Weil, Washington Post, Jan. 19, 2024.)

  Some related CANCON: A Canadian Press headline: "Long-Term Prairie Drought Raises Concerns Over Groundwater Levels," Bob Weber, Jan.20, 2024.

“The lowest water levels are all in the last seven years and the levels are much lower now than they were in the ’70s and ’80s,” Pomeroy said. “It'll be a climate signal that we’re seeing....” “It’s something we need to keep an eye on.”

Don't Bet On It

   At the end of last year, I suggested in "On Betting" that perhaps we should be as worried about the gambling situation as we are tired over watching all the ads promoting it. I did offer one source suggesting that money was being made and people are getting jobs in the gambling sector. If you think you can find better statistics related to Ontario, Don't bet on it.  
   Read, if you can, this good article: “Got Questions About Ontario’s Online Gambling Industry” Don’t Bet on Getting the Answers,” Simon Houpt, Globe and Mail, Jan. 19, 2024. He begins by noting that this gambling thing is supposed to be great and he attempts to find out how great from iGaming Ontario. He wasn't able to get much information from them, but it was easy to find out from the folks in New York and Massachusetts.

  

When Ontario announced a few years ago that it was giving the green light to online gambling, politicians made familiar promises about the scheme. It would be great for consumers. Great for the province’s tax revenue. Great for jobs, great for the local innovation economy. (They didn’t say anything about how great it might be for our blood pressure to be subjected to the ensuing flood of sportsbook ads.)

Since then, most of the talk about online gambling has focused on its downsides: the volume of ads; the disappointment in seeing heroes such as Wayne Gretzky or Auston Matthews encouraging fans to get into the betting game; the cautionary tales about addicts losing their homes, their jobs, their families, their lives.

Would the conversation be different if the government actually trusted the public enough to give them real information about the state of the industry?

For almost two years, iGaming Ontario (or iGO), which oversees online gambling in the province on behalf of the Alcohol Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), has followed a policy of saying as little as possible. It releases quarterly snapshots that contain a handful of data to show things are going swimmingly.

Which they might be. Who knows.

For the first year of those quarterly reports, iGO revealed almost nothing. It published the total amount of money that had been wagered, but refused to outline how much came from the different types of betting: casino, sports, or online poker. It was hardly a vote of confidence in a promising industry.

It’s finally begun breaking out those figures. Still, it evidently believes most information is like thrash metal or direct democracy: potentially dangerous if released onto an unsuspecting public. And so it withholds data that might help Ontarians grapple with the emerging place of online betting in the province.

He then made a few phone calls and it seems our southern neighbours were rather chatty.

Other jurisdictions seem to recognize the benefits in giving the public access to timely, comprehensive information....

A quick scan of the information published by Massachusetts and New York may give you some idea of the warts that Ontario might be trying to hide.

Last month, mobile sportsbooks in New York State took in US$2.04-billion in total wagers. Of that amount, the market goliath FanDuel handled US$835-million, or about 41 per cent of all wagers. DraftKings handled US$773-million (about 38 per cent), and Caesars handled US$202-million (or almost 10 per cent)....

The Massachusetts numbers for December echo the winners-take-all landscape in New York. Of US$643-million wagered on online sportsbooks, DraftKings handled US$316-million, or 49 per cent. FanDuel handled US$187-million (29 per cent). ESPN Bet, newly rebranded from Penn Sports Interactive, handled US$50-million and saw its market share jump to almost 8 per cent from 6 per cent. The other five licenced operators handled the remaining 14 per cent of the action.

All of which is to say the industry looks a little like America itself: a few fat cats at the top, with everyone else scrambling to survive.

And what does the landscape look like in Ontario, where there were an astonishing 49 licensees operating 72 gambling websites – including, by my count, 30 sports-betting operations – as of Dec. 31, 2023? Are two or three foreign juggernauts dominating an industry the government had hoped would become a central player in the province’s innovation economy, as people suspect? Are Canadian-based companies, which have much smaller marketing budgets than the global behemoths, connecting with consumers? Are they barely keeping their heads above water? Are they targets for the industry consolidation that so many observers believe is inevitable? Will the jobs that the province trumpeted as a major reason to greenlight gambling never materialize, or evaporate? Will online gambling be yet another branch-plant economy of foreign giants?

The questions were not answered.

Water Woes

 

   Although I would prefer to avoid the awful things now occurring, a recent article compels me to issue this alert: "Our drinking water may soon disappear!"

   I read the article which is the first one listed above and both the graphic and the article are from the New York Times. It was written by a team and the data supporting it were substantial. The other articles pictured above constitute a series and there may be more. If you can access them, do so. "America Is Using Up Its Groundwater Like There's No Tomorrow," is in the Aug. 28 issue. The "Big Farms" one is from Sept.3, the "Colorado City" one from Sept.5 and the "Monster Fracks" from Sept.25.

   I will offer my simple summary of the core article by suggesting that we are all living in Arizona now and that assertion is based on a lot of data. Here are some extracts from the article:

   "Many of the aquifers that supply 90 percent of the nation’s water systems, and which have transformed vast stretches of America into some of the world’s most bountiful farmland, are being severely depleted. These declines are threatening irreversible harm to the American economy and society as a whole. 

   The New York Times conducted a months-long examination of groundwater depletion, interviewing more than 100 experts, traveling the country and creating a comprehensive database using millions of readings from monitoring sites. The investigation reveals how America’s life-giving resource is being exhausted in much of the country, and in many cases it won’t come back. Huge industrial farms and sprawling cities are draining aquifers that could take centuries or millenniums to replenish themselves if they recover at all.

“There is no way to get that back,” Don Cline, the associate director for water resources at the United States Geological Survey, said of disappearing groundwater. “There’s almost no way to convey how important it is.”

   This analysis is based on tens of thousands of groundwater monitoring wells that dot the nation. The Times collected data for these wells, which are widely scattered and often poorly tracked, from dozens of federal, state and local jurisdictions....

   One of the biggest obstacles is that the depletion of this unseen yet essential natural resource is barely regulated. The federal government plays almost no role, and individual states have implemented a dizzying array of often weak rules....

   The federal government sets rules on groundwater, but not its overuse or depletion, although experts say Congress has the constitutional authority to do so. Overall, federal responsibility for water is scattered among a half-dozen different agencies....

   America’s approach to regulating water is “a total mess,” said Upmanu Lall, director of the Columbia Water Center at Columbia University.

   “From an objective standpoint, this is a crisis,” said Warigia Bowman, a law professor and water expert at the University of Tulsa. “There will be parts of the U.S. that run out of drinking water.”

   In the very near future, thirsty people will be found throughout the country. Minnesota, the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" is not excluded, nor is Maryland, the state in which I grew up. Charles County, "which contains fast-growing suburbs of Washington, has used most of its groundwater for homes and agriculture. And, it isn't coming back anytime soon."

Canadian Content

   Canada is not mentioned, but it is not difficult to find articles that indicate concerns about this commodity in our country. Tofino, one of the wettest places I have been, has nearly a dry reservoir and has issued water restrictions and this headline indicates lack of water is a problem elsewhere: "Gulf Islands Water Woes an Ominous Omen For the Rest of B.C." Also in that province, there are major issues between the U.S. and Canada involving the Columbia River and the water in it and it is not too difficult to imagine that there will soon be increased demands in the U.S. from some of the Great Lakes, one of which supplies water to London. Let's hope that Line 5 does not burst under the Straits of Mackinac.

Post Script:
  The water-related news continues to be bad, which is one reason I decided to bring up an issue we would rather not think about. When you do think about it, you realize that it is rather amazing that we plop down housing developments and assume that water will magically come up to supply the residents. Among the news stories one learns that the folks living in New Orleans soon may run out of drinking water, although they generally have to worry about having too much water, and salt water intrusion is a problem in many coastal areas. (see, for example, "A Saltwater Wedge Climbing the Mississippi River Threatens Drinking Water: New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell Signed an Emergency Declaration Friday as Saltwater Threatens the City," Brady Dennis, Washington Post, Sept. 22, 2023.)

Even the Panama Canal is 'Thirsty.'
   The picture above shows ships waiting to enter the Panama Canal. Who knew that it takes 50 million gallons of fresh water from the Gatun Lake to move one ship through the canal and that daily the Panama Canal uses three times as much water as all of New York city? If you are still waiting for that fridge to come from the Far East, it may be delayed because of a lack of water. (The NASA photograph is found in this article where you can learn more about another cause for supply chain interruptions: "Panama Canal Traffic Backup.")   

Hydration: Going Against the Current

 

  The cartoon above arrived today, courtesy of the New Yorker.  That fact, plus the fact that it is pouring outside, reminded me of a "FAD" which I have wondered about over a number of years. It has to do with the consumption of water. The need for humans to drink huge amounts of it; people doing little physical work at all in comfortable, climate controlled buildings. I recall going to meetings where the participants looked like they were heading off on a safari. To ascend to the second floor, elevator buttons had to be pushed for those carrying  enough water bottles to get them through the hour.  Had I been as smart then as I now am, I surely could have convinced the folks at "The Bay" to start selling colourful canteens to match the work gear.

   It is lucky for me that the answer to the question, "How Much Water Do You Actually Need?" arrived just prior to that cartoon.  The answer to the question is basically, "Not Much." Here is the recent article, as well as another one which determines that this whole myth began in 1945. You should look at the articles and additional literature since I am not providing all the stuff about electrolytes. Still, you are more likely to be waterlogged than dehydrated.

"How Much Water Do You Actually Need? Here’s how to know when you truly need to hydrate," Christie Aschwanden, New York Times, September 17, 2021. 

If you’ve spent any time on social media or visited an athletic event lately, you’ve surely been bombarded with encouragements to drink more water. Celebrity influencers lug around gallon-sized water bottles as the hot new accessory.... 
The purported benefits of excess water consumption are seemingly endless, from improved memory and mental health to increased energy to better complexion. “Stay hydrated” has become a new version of the old salutation, “Stay well.”...

We’ve all been taught that eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day is the magic number for everyone, but that notion is a myth, said Tamara Hew-Butler, an exercise and sports scientist at Wayne State University.

….Do I have to drink water to stay hydrated?

Not necessarily. From a purely nutritional standpoint, water is a better choice than less healthy options like sugary sodas or fruit juices. But when it comes to hydration, any beverage can add water to your system, Dr. Hew-Butler said.... One popular notion is that drinking beverages with caffeine or alcohol will dehydrate you, but if that’s true, the effect is negligible, Dr. Topf said. A 2016 randomized controlled trial of 72 men, for instance, concluded that the hydrating effects of water, lager, coffee and tea were nearly identical....
You can also get water from what you eat. Fluid-rich foods and meals like fruits, vegetables, soups and sauces all contribute to water intake. Additionally, the chemical process of metabolizing food produces water as a byproduct, which adds to your intake too, Dr. Topf said....
But drinking more water, even when I’m not thirsty, will improve my health, right?No. Of course, people with certain conditions, like kidney stones or the more rare autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, may benefit from making an effort to drink a little more water than their thirst would tell them to, Dr. Topf said.
But in reality, most healthy people who blame feeling ill on being dehydrated may actually be feeling off because they’re drinking too much water....

The Source of the Myth

"No, You Do Not Have to Drink 8 Glasses of Water a Day," Aaron Carroll, New York Times, Aug. 24, 2015

If there is one health myth that will not die, it is this: You should drink eight glasses of water a day.

It’s just not true. There is no science behind it.

I was a co-author of a paper back in 2007 in the BMJ on medical myths. The first myth was that people should drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day. This paper got more media attention (even in The Times) than pretty much any other research I’ve ever done.

It made no difference. When, two years later, we published a book on medical myths that once again debunked the idea that we need eight glasses of water a day, I thought it would persuade people to stop worrying. I was wrong again.

Many people believe that the source of this myth was a 1945 Food and Nutrition Board recommendation that said people need about 2.5 liters of water a day. But they ignored the sentence that followed closely behind. It read, “Most of this quantity is contained in prepared foods.”....

Water is present in fruits and vegetables. It’s in juice, it’s in beer, it’s even in tea and coffee. Before anyone writes me to tell me that coffee is going to dehydrate you, research shows that’s not true either.

Although I recommended water as the best beverage to consume, it’s certainly not your only source of hydration. You don’t have to consume all the water you need through drinks. You also don’t need to worry so much about never feeling thirsty. The human body is finely tuned to signal you to drink long before you are actually dehydrated.

Contrary to many stories you may hear, there’s no real scientific proof that, for otherwise healthy people, drinking extra water has any health benefits. For instance, reviews have failed to find that there’s any evidence that drinking more water keeps skin hydrated and makes it look healthier or wrinkle free. 

A Bonus Source:

This Question and Answer article is from the University of Virginia. Here is a sample. You can read the complete article by clicking on this link:

EVERYTHING WE THINK WE KNOW ABOUT DRINKING WATER MAY BE WRONG,

January 27, 2020 UVA. 

Perhaps, more important than the conflicting scientific evidence is the strong marketing effect for sports beverages and bottled water that began in the 1990s, along with a recommendation from the American College of Sports Medicine in 1996 that focused on higher fluid intakes and drinking as much as tolerated. This recommendation also popularized the claim that you should drink before exercise and stay ahead of dehydration. The marketing efforts have been highly effective and I think are likely the greatest contributor to current behaviors. 

Q. Is there a recommended amount of water that a person should drink on a daily basis? Do how much you weigh and your overall level of physical activity play into it?

A. I am always hesitant to give a specific amount of fluid intake that is “right” for someone.  There are so many variables involved, such as your activity level, fitness, ambient temperature and sweat rate, that blanket recommendations don’t make much sense.

More important, we should recognize that dehydration is not a disease. If you are exercising or doing other daily activities and you are not drinking then, at some point, you get thirsty. Thirst is our bodies’ way of telling you to drink. Thirst has evolved in the animal kingdom over millions of years and is a very effective way to prevent dehydration.

The notion that you should drink to prevent thirst makes no sense. Humans don’t need to be told when and how much to drink (except in rare medical circumstances). Thirst is our innate hydration sensor.

The End.