We saw many of your reports and others of people still three weeks out from the storm who are still drinking from streams and creeks.
How are people getting water now?
What’s concerning, William, is that three weeks after the storm and at least a week after the allegations first surfaced that people might be trying to drink from toxic wells at what’s known as Superfund sites, the governor of Puerto Rico is still saying, we’re looking into it and telling people to stay out of rivers where sewage may be spilling into the river.
The other scenarios are people right now who are drinking from streams and creeks and rivers who have no water filters, who have nothing, right?
DAVID BEGNAUD: The two men running the ship told us that nearly 87 percent of the ship is empty.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: One of the other pieces of reporting that you did that was very early in the story was this backlog of supplies trapped in container ships on the ports in Puerto Rico.
Can you tell us, are they getting to where they need to be throughout the island?
So, those were private companies that had brought in these shipping containers, paid for the supplies, but couldn’t move them because their truck drivers were either at home, because the home had been destroyed, or the road was impassable.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: David Begnaud, CBS News, thank you so much for your reporting.

We saw many of your reports and others of people still three weeks out from the storm who are still drinking from streams and creeks.
How are people getting water now?
What’s concerning, William, is that three weeks after the storm and at least a week after the allegations first surfaced that people might be trying to drink from toxic wells at what’s known as Superfund sites, the governor of Puerto Rico is still saying, we’re looking into it and telling people to stay out of rivers where sewage may be spilling into the river.
The other scenarios are people right now who are drinking from streams and creeks and rivers who have no water filters, who have nothing, right?
DAVID BEGNAUD: The two men running the ship told us that nearly 87 percent of the ship is empty.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: One of the other pieces of reporting that you did that was very early in the story was this backlog of supplies trapped in container ships on the ports in Puerto Rico.
Can you tell us, are they getting to where they need to be throughout the island?
So, those were private companies that had brought in these shipping containers, paid for the supplies, but couldn’t move them because their truck drivers were either at home, because the home had been destroyed, or the road was impassable.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: David Begnaud, CBS News, thank you so much for your reporting.

Puerto Rico is still devastated by Hurricane Maria three weeks later. News reports revealed that the victims were given water from potentially contaminated sites. According to workers with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Puerto Rican water utility workers were seen distributing water that they got from the Dorado groundwater contamination site, an area that was designated as part of the United States’ federal initiative to clean up dangerous waste last fall.
The EPA is gathering more information about the quality of water from the wells associated with our Dorado groundwater contamination site, as well as other Superfund sites in Puerto Rico. While some of these wells are sometimes used to provide drinking water, the EPA is concerned that people could be drinking water that may be contaminated, depending on the well. We are mindful of the paramount job of protecting people’s health, balanced with people’s basic need for water.
Since the story broke, Democratic representative Bennie Thompson penned a letter on Saturday to the secretary of Homeland Security, Elaine Duke.
Reports of Puerto Ricans waiting hours to receive potentially contaminated water that could have long-term health consequences is beyond disturbing.

A 2015 study by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission found northern Indiana’s groundwater resources are considered good to excellent with access to several surface water sources, most notably Lake Michigan.
Southern Indiana has the most limited supply of groundwater but access to several rivers for surface supply.
As projections call for expanded access to water, water utilities face rising costs with rates ballooning in recent years.
From 2005 to 2014, water and wastewater rates rose 5.74 percent per year, while the CPI rose at a slower pace of 2.21 percent per year.
Overall, the number of general rate increase requests, which excludes trackers, was similar to those made in 2013, with eight water utilities approved for a rate increase.
But while Jesse Kharbanda, president of the Hoosier Environmental Council, agrees the state will see an increase in water need as long as population and industrial use increases, he argues natural preservation and increased water quality is equally important.
The Mounds Lake Project, backed by the Corporation for Economic Development, would see a dam installed on the White River, creating a 2,100-acre lake near downtown Anderson. The CED argues this would not only supply water but also spur economic development.
The HEC introduced its own project, the Mounds Greenway, which would create a walking and biking route along the White River, preserving the natural landscape and, the HEC argues, also allowing for local development.

With no electricity, some people are using car batteries for power.
"Every day, I visited at least three or four stores looking for bottled water, and I didn’t get any, so every night I try to do the math to be able to boil water and not use enough gas to be able to also cook," Ramírez said.
As the island struggles to recover, the impacts have hit the poor hard.
"Sampling of these wells done in 2015 indicated that some exceeded drinking water standards for volatile organic chemicals," Harris-Bishop said in an email.
Official government figures place the death toll from the storm at 48 in Puerto Rico.
"As more people are going hungry, FEMA keeps doing paperwork," said José Andrés, founder of non-profit food assistance organization World Central Kitchen. "When we should have less people hungry, it seems every day we have more.
Andrés said his group was providing 70,000 warm meals per day out of 6 kitchens across Puerto Rico without FEMA support as of Wednesday. The group hoped to expand to 100,000 meals by the end of the week but much more was needed for Puerto Rico’s 3.4 million people, Andrés said.
As the daily struggle for food and water persists, President Trump threatened to cut off federal support to the U.S. territory on Thursday.

Some Puerto Rico residents are turning to a hazardous waste site for drinking water as the island continues to reel from Hurricane Maria.
More than three weeks after Hurricane Maria tore across the island, many residents – U.S. citizens – remain without access to clean drinking water. As of Saturday evening, service had been restored to about 64 percent of the island.
But according to a CNN report, some residents are seeking water from potentially risky sources. That includes the Dorado Groundwater Contamination Site, an area designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a so-called Superfund site.
The Dorado site was added to the list in 2016.
On Friday, according to CNN, workers from Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados (AAA), the Puerto Rican water utility, pumped water from a well at the Dorado site, and distributed it to storm-stricken residents.
Exposure to PCE and TCE carry the risk of health problems, including liver damage and an increased risk of cancer, according to the EPA.
CNN reported that the EPA is testing the site over the weekend.
But he said that the well has been opened on an emergency basis, and that the water was safe to drink.

Puerto Ricans are reportedly being given drinking water from Superfund sites, areas that may be contaminated with hazardous waste, amid an ongoing lack of accessible clean water after Hurricane Maria.
"I don’t have a choice… This is the only option I have," local Jose Luis Rodriguez, 66, told CNN, as he filled up bottles of water at the Dorado Superfund site.
It’s unknown if the particular well being used on Friday is contaminated. The EPA did not immediately respond to BuzzFeed News’s request for comment, but said in a statement to CNN that it plans to test the well over the weekend.
Hye-Jin Kim, who works in policy at think tank Frontier Group, created a map of the island’s Superfund sites.
If boiling the water is not possible, water may be disinfected with bleach.

More than three weeks after Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, more than 35 percent of the American citizens there (and they are all American citizens, every single one of them) do not have potable drinking water, and a report that came out late Friday night indicates that the residents of Dorado are being given water from a hazardous waste site.
After reviewing Superfund documents and interviewing federal and local officials, CNN learned that the water being pumped to residents of Dorado, PR., is from a federally-designated hazardous waste site.
Workers from the Puerto Rican water utility, Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados (AAA,) distributed water from a well at the Dorado Groundwater Contamination Site on Friday afternoon, and CNN reports that the contamination site was listed as part of the federal Superfund program for hazardous waste cleanup in 2016.
The EPA has yet to test the water to determine whether it carries a health risk or not. According to CNN, the agency said it plans to do testing in area over the weekend.
This administration is treating the people of Puerto Rico as if they don’t matter.

At least 35% of the residents in Puerto Rico have no access to clean water, according to Status PR, the Puerto Rican government’s website that keeps track of relief efforts there.
CNN reported that it witnessed workers for Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados, the island’s water utility, distributing water from a well at the Dorado Groundwater Contamination Site, which was included on a list of federal Superfund sites last year.
The US Environmental Protection Agency said at the time that the site contained potentially harmful chemicals like tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene. According to the EPA, the risks associated with exposure include liver damage and an increased risk of cancer.
"The EPA is gathering more information about the quality of water from the wells associated with our Dorado groundwater contamination site, as well as other Superfund sites in Puerto Rico," the EPA’s statement read.
President Donald Trump has received poor reviews for his handling of the relief effort in Puerto Rico, even as Trump has repeatedly applauded himself. House Speaker Paul Ryan visited the island on Friday and promised continued financial support from the federal government, a day after Trump said the US military and FEMA could not stay on the island forever.
Some were resigned to the desperation of the moment, CNN reported: "I don’t have a choice," 66-year-old Jose Luis Rodriguez told the news network. "This is the only option I have."

Dorado, Puerto Rico (CNN)Jose Luis Rodriguez waited in line Friday to fill plastic jugs in the back of his pickup truck with water for drinking, doing the dishes and bathing.
But there is something about this water Rodriguez didn’t know: It was being pumped to him by water authorities from a federally designated hazardous-waste site, CNN learned after reviewing Superfund documents and interviewing federal and local officials.
Friday afternoon, CNN watched workers from the Puerto Rican water utility, Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados, or AAA, distribute water from a well at the Dorado Groundwater Contamination Site, which was listed in 2016 as part of the federal Superfund program for hazardous waste cleanup.
In announcing the addition of the Dorado site to the Superfund program, the US Environmental Protection Agency says the area was polluted with industrial chemicals, including tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene, which "can have serious health impacts including damage to the liver and increasing the risk of cancer," according to the EPA.
It’s unclear whether there are public health risks from this particular well, however.
"While some of these wells are sometimes used to provide drinking water, the EPA is concerned that people could be drinking water that may be contaminated, depending on the well.
Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados, the water authority, was unaware that this well site was part of the Superfund program until CNN provided maps showing that this was the case, according to Luis Melendez, sub-director for environmental compliance at the utility.
In 2015, this well in Dorado, which is located near a shopping center, was found by the EPA to be safely within federal standards for PCE and chloroform, two industrial chemicals.
"I’ve never seen this before," he said, referring to the idea a Superfund site would be used as a source of public drinking water.
People waiting in line for water on Friday were largely unaware of these concerns.