At low-level concentrations, the cancer-causing chemical can turn clear water yellow, and when it’s really bad, a water source contaminated with ‘chrome-6’ can flow purple.
But even when tap water is perfectly clear, Brockovich admitted she’s still "funny about water," and rarely, if ever, drinks straight from a tap.
"I think we’re pretty convinced that these chemicals are immune toxicants that we should be concerned about," Linda Birnbaum, a microbiologist who directs the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences at the National Institutes of Health, said last month.
Eight big chemical companies in the US (including DuPont and 3M) voluntarily phased out the chemicals in their products and replaced them with new ones by 2015.
How to ensure your water is safe to drink The first thing you can do if you’re worried about the quality of your tap water is read your local water report.
She has even agreed to endorse a filtering product for the first time ever: the AquaTru home water filter.
Plus, bottled water is often just treated tap water, and the products are generally less regulated than what comes out of the tap.
But the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lets companies use the label "purified water" on water that’s been treated in several different ways, so it’s not always clear how it’s been filtered.
"I let consumers know, use your own common sense … if it looks funny or smells funny, don’t drink it."
Water-quality data for cities and towns around the country is required to be reported every year, and it’s available on the EPA’s website.

The full budget proposal is expected to continue the skinny budget’s call earlier this year to slash the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget to $5.7 billion, according to the National Association of Clean Air Agencies, which on May 19 released figures it said came “directly from an administration document.” In addition to spending for EPA and other agencies, the new budget will include projections for mandatory spending on programs such as Social Security and Medicare, along with blueprints for spending and tax revenues over the next decade.
Members of Congress—including some Republicans—have been critical of Trump’s called-for cuts to EPA as well as to Energy Department research and development efforts, among other programs.
Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney will appear before the House Budget Committee on May 24 and Senate Budget Committee on May 25 to further outline the administration’s proposals.
Also coming up the week of May 22: Water Pollution Permits: The House is taking up a bill (H.R.
Tiffany Stecker will cover the House Rules Committee hearing on the bill on May 22.
Special Election: A special election will be held May 25 for Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s old House seat representing Montana.
As Bloomberg BNA’s Rachel Leven has reported, the result won’t change the state of play in Washington, but offers stark options for Montanans when it comes to how they want to be represented on energy and environment policy.
FERC, DOE Nominations: The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on May 25 will consider the nominations of Rob Powelson and Neil Chatterjee to be FERC commissioners and for Dan Brouillette to be Deputy Secretary of Energy.
Rebecca Kern will cover.
Pruitt Talks: EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is among the invited speakers May 24 at Faegre Baker Daniels’ annual energy and environmental symposium in Washington, D.C. Brian Dabbs will report.