DelVal hosts Water Talk as a prelude to its upcoming symposium on water
Inspired by Elizabeth Royte’s “Bottlemania” and the recent on-campus water tasting, the DelVal Book Community hosted a water talk Oct. 18. with mini lectures on water-related topics. The event was held from 5-7 p.m. in Mandell 114.
DelVal English Professor Dr. Michael Stamps said “Bottlemania" was selected as a kind of prelude to the Precarious Alliance symposium that will be held at DelVal in fall of 2012.
“The previous Precarious Alliance was an exciting and important event that brought to campus an array of international scholars, scientists and experts on food production in the U.S. and abroad,” Dr. Stamps said. “… So, the choice of ‘Bottlemania’ plays into the next symposium, which will be focusing on water, water rights, water issues, and this will give us just a little foretaste of that.”
The talk covered topics including: E. Coli contamination in water, the chemistry of water’s taste, water’s role in keeping people healthy and water quality on campus.
Assistant Professor of Dairy Science and Animal Nutrition Dr. Bruce Richards spoke about a strain of E Coli called 0157:H7 that former USDA Soil Scientist Frank Pecarich, one of Royte’s sources for the book, claimed could survive wastewater treatment.
The book said that the strain, which can cause symptoms from bloody diarrhea all the way up to kidney failure, death, and in rare cases strokes, is more common in corn-fed cows. Dr. Richards wanted to know if that was true and if so, why cows are fed corn.
He did find that the strain is more common in corn-fed cows, but did not find cases of contamination from drinking water that was properly treated. In one case he found a 2-year-old became sick when she drank from an unchlorinated well. The well was near a cow pasture and surface water contaminated the well. In other water contamination cases that he found, the water wasn’t properly treated.
He said cows are fed corn because corn-fed cows are more efficient than grass-fed cows. They reach their end weights faster using significantly less resources, including significantly less water while producing less waste.
He also spoke about preventing infection.
Dr. Edward Sambriski, a chemistry faculty member, examined the science behind water’s taste. He said taste is complex and involves smell as well as “mouth feel.”
He said water’s acidity affects flavor. A pH of 5-6.7, for example, would produce a slightly sour flavor, while a pH of 7.3-7.8 produces a hint of sweetness.
He also showed that taste sometimes has a lot to do with what a consumer thinks they’re getting.
Dr. Sambriski delighted the audience with a video by the comedic magician team of Penn & Teller. In the video, guests at an upscale restaurant are given samples of a “variety” of fine waters that are presented in a way similar to how wines would be presented. The guests describe how much better the waters are than tap only to find out that all of the “varieties” have come from the same hose out back.
He also shared a 2001 “Good Morning America” blind water taste test that found that 45 percent of participants preferred New York City tap water over three types of bottled water.
Assistant Professor of Food Science, Nutrition and Management Dr. Cathy Davies, spoke about water’s role in maintaining a healthy body and in the shelf life of certain foods. She said products with a higher water content often have a shorter shelf life.
She said water is needed to regulate temperature and transport nutrients around the body, helps remove waste, and serves other important purposes.
She said without water a person can die in three or four days, while a person can survive without food for 10-21 days.
Environmental Health and Safety Specialist Colin Chambers ended the talk by discussing the safe, free water available from DelVal taps. He went through the source of the water, what the water is tested for and how frequently the water is tested.
The conversation about water at DelVal is just beginning.
In October 2012 the college will host a Precarious Alliance symposium entitled, “The Value of Water: Everything Flows from Here,” that will cover water related issues and explore themes including water technology, the idea of water and water and the Earth.
The Precarious Alliance series was established by college President Dr. Joseph S. Brosnan as a way to encourage civil dialogue between people from all sides of the issues. The events bring in nationally known experts from a variety of fields to seek interdisciplinary solutions to current problems.
While each year the Precarious Alliance explores sustainability from a new angle, the key question remains the same: How can people meet their needs today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs?
The symposium’s keynote speaker will be author Charles Fishman, who wrote “The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water.”