Part II due in 36 hours

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FINAL PAPER PART I

NAME

October 23, 2020

The selected community is Barton village in Washtenaw County in Michigan state. It sits on the north bank of Barton Pond, the impoundment of Huron River created by the Barton Dam. The total population of the village is 302 people of which 56.79 % are female while 43.21 % are male. The racial composition of Barton hills is 84.67 % whites, 5.57 % two or more races, 5.23 % African Americans, 4.18 % Asians, and 0.35 % other races. It occupies an area of 0.8 square miles. The population density is 400.4 per square mile. The median age is 55 years. The common means of transport are cars. Buses and bicycles are also used frequently to move from one place to another. 65 percent of the population has attained a graduate degree. English is the most spoken language in Barton village. The median income for households is $222, 917. The employment rate is 57 % while the unemployment rate is 1.4 %. 3.33 % of whites live below the poverty level (World Population Review, 2020). There is a high dependency ratio because of the old age of community members. There are apartments and bungalows in the village. Some of the structures in the village look old and the mean construction year is 1980. Medical facilities and hospitals are available to the members of Barton village. The Barton Hills Medical Group plays a crucial role in the provision of healthcare services.

The health risk for the Barton Community is the contamination of water sources. The water pipes in the village are old and there have been major leakages in the past. These leakages have contaminated drinking water that is supplied to various homes in Barton village. Contamination is caused by the dumping of wastes in regions where water pipes are laid. System maintenance is rarely conducted in Barton village (Kumpel et al, 2014). The situation presents a huge health risk to all Barton village residents. People are likely to drink water that contains bacteria such as coliforms. Considering the fact that the median age in the village is 55 years, one realizes that people could develop diseases because of drinking contaminated water as most of them might not have strong immune systems. Contaminated water can transmit diseases such as cholera, typhoid, dysentery, and diarrhea.

The goal of Barton village residents is to have a consistent and safe water supply. The community members should have a supply of clean and safe drinking water as soon as possible. The laid pipes are not reliable as they could leak anytime and result in water contamination (Kielb et al, 2012). The water problem has to be fixed in one month to eliminate the risk of people developing diseases transmitted by polluted water. The quality of water supplied will be measured by the overall health outcomes of the population. People should not develop any disease if the problem is fixed and safe water supplied to them.

There are several interventions that can help the community reach its goal. The first intervention is policy enforcement. Those who are responsible for maintaining the water supply should be compelled to comply with the laws and regulations on system maintenance. They should be required to change the water pipes that are prone to leakages. Another intervention is environmental improvements. These can ensure that water pipes are not laid in dirty places risking contamination when there is leakage (Kumpel et al, 2014). Advocacy can be used as an intervention to enhance safe drinking water best practices. Collaboration would also be an important intervention to supply safe water to the Barton residents. Various groups and organizations can cooperate to find a new water supply that is safe for drinking.

The impact of the expected interventions includes the availability of safe and clean water for drinking in Barton village. The number of people suffering from diseases such as cholera and typhoid will also reduce if the interventions are implemented. The overall health of community members increases when there has access to clean water free of contaminants.

REFERENCES

Kielb, M. A., Swales, J. M., & Wolinski, R. A. (2012). The Birds of Washtenaw County, Michigan. University of Michigan Press.

Kumpel, E., & Nelson, K. L. (2014). Mechanisms affecting water quality in an intermittent piped water supply. Environmental science & technology, 48(5), 2766-2775.

World Population Review (2020). Retrieved from https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/barton-hills-mi-population