Just a few weeks before my visit, tests discovered that the public drinking water in Blades was contaminated with chemicals known as perfluorinated compounds, or PFCs.
With PFCs present at nearly twice the federal health advisory level, the town alerted its 1,250 residents, as well as businesses and schools that use public water, to stop using that water for drinking and cooking.
It turns out that our state’s Division of Public Health offers water quality test kits for just $4 that can determine if bacteria and many chemicals in your water fall within safe parameters.
Should your test detect contamination, there are officials at DNREC and the DHSS Division of Public Health who can help homeowners determine what steps to take to ensure that their water is clean and safe.
To find a solution, we formed the Nutrient Management Commission, bringing together farmers and other Delawareans to develop best practices for addressing agricultural waste in order to reduce pollutants that move through our water system and eventually find their way to the Chesapeake Bay.
In Delaware, we have seen that smart investments can dramatically improve our water quality.
Our country’s outdated drinking water infrastructure systems continue to be strained by population growth and stagnant federal investments.
Unfortunately, the Trump Administration’s initial infrastructure proposal focuses more on cutting environmental protections – like those that address water pollution – rather than making the historic investments in our infrastructure that are badly needed in many parts of America after decades of underinvestment at the local, state and federal level.
President Trump’s proposal also makes drastic cuts to federal investments in local water and wastewater programs under the assumption that private investment will make up the difference.
Until we get serious about funding modern, safe drinking water systems across the country, small towns and the families who live there will continue to bear both the financial and public health burdens of our inaction.