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On The Navajo Nation, Special Ed Students Await Water That Doesn’t Stink

Woodie, who also works at Saint Michael’s, says the only problem with the school is its water.
Many of the kids at Saint Michael’s are medically fragile.
And at some of the places that do, like Saint Michael’s, people don’t want to drink it because it smells, tastes funny and looks bad.
In another classroom, volunteer Jacob Lundy helps two young girls with autism wash their hands at the sink.
The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority tests the water at Saint Michael’s monthly and says it meets national primary drinking water standards.
"People typically won’t drink water if it tastes bad or if it looks bad or if it stinks," says Adam Bringhurst, who studies water resources at Northern Arizona University.
But those secondary standards are still very important, he says.
George McGraw, Dig Deep’s founder and executive director, is especially concerned for the disabled kids.
And what’s more basic than having access to clean running water?"
It will be something kids and staff actually want to drink.

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