NRDC: One in Every Four American Households May Not Have Access to Safe Drinking Water.
The Natural Resources Defense Council authored a report which investigated water quality violations across the country.
From coast to coast, the NRDC found 80,000 violations, ranging from the presence of arsenic to nitrate contamination.
Taken out of the abstract and given a number, that’s about 77 million citizens who can’t be sure what’s flowing through their pipes beside water.
Among the Council’s foremost worries is that the Trump administration may not be fully committed to keeping Americans’ water clean.
“America is facing a nationwide drinking water crisis that goes well beyond lead contamination,” said Olson, who also co-authored the report.
“The problem is two-fold: there’s no cop on the beat enforcing or drinking water laws, and we’re living on borrowed time with our ancient, deteriorating water infrastructure.
We take it for granted that when we turn on our kitchen tap, the water will be safe and healthy, but we have a long way to go before that is reality across our country.” The report summary, released on the NRDC website and reported on by The New York Times and other publications, implied that Trump’s commitment to preserving “crystal clear water” may run afoul of reality.
Budget cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency could strain resources which are already applied inefficiently and late.
Among the most widely-publicized failures of the EPA as well as public government to provide safe drinking water to its residents is that of Flint.