"Lead found in tap water of Los Angeles community after residents raised alarm for years"

A new report has found elevated lead levels in tap water across Watts, a south Los Angeles community that has faced decades of environmental racism, including in the drinking water of multiple public housing developments.

Researchers working with the Better Watts Initiative, a community environmental group, tested tap water at sites across the neighbourhood, and found lead, a neurotoxic metal, at or above US government limits.

The elevated concentrations were most often found in housing developments that have been plagued for decades by toxic contamination from lead and other pollution.

"Michigan’s PFAS drinking-water limits hang in balance of Supreme Court case"

The Michigan Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in a case that could make or break rules requiring water suppliers to filter cancer-causing “forever chemicals” out of customers’ drinking water.

The fate of those rules hangs in the balance, after Minneapolis-based chemical giant 3M sued the state in hopes of overturning them.

The company wants to void the rules, arguing that state regulators missed a key procedural step when crafting them. The case comes to the Supreme Court after lower courts deemed the rules invalid but kept them in place pending the state’s appeal.

"Scientists Warn: Up to 95 Million Americans Could Be Drinking Toxic, PFAS-Contaminated Water"

A new model estimates that up to 95 million Americans may use groundwater with PFAS contamination, largely unregulated in small public systems and private wells. The study suggests enhanced monitoring and treatment to address this persistent health risk.

A new predictive model using machine learning suggests that up to 95 million Americans could be consuming groundwater containing PFAS as their primary drinking water source before any treatment, researchers report. This finding highlights concerns about unmonitored contamination in both domestic and public water supplies.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often called “forever chemicals,“ are highly persistent environmental contaminants linked to adverse environmental and health effects. Used in many consumer products, these organic pollutants have become ubiquitous in the environment and are routinely found in groundwater and surface water.

"Invasive Species Are Threatening the Quality of New York’s Tap Water"

The quality of New York’s drinking water—and the complex system that delivers it to each New Yorker’s tap—has long been a source of pride for city officials and residents alike. Intricate aqueducts, powered largely by gravity, bring water from the Delaware and Catskills watersheds, as well as from the closer Croton Reservoirs, to the city.

"Nearly 19% of water systems tested in Pa. contain PFAS levels above new EPA standards"

Public water providers across the U.S. are grappling with new federal Environmental Protection Agency regulations that require them to test their drinking water for toxic PFAS, and reduce the so-called “forever chemicals” to almost zero over the next five years.

The goal is to address increasing concerns about PFAS, a large class of chemicals found in hundreds of everyday products, such as nonstick cookware and waterproof clothing, as well as firefighting foam.

The consequences of exposure to PFAS are long-lasting — the compounds can stay in the environment, and the human bloodstream, for years. The chemicals have been linked to some cancers, thyroid disease, ulcerative colitis, developmental delays in children and other health conditions.

"BREAKING: Loveland now faces sanctions unless Forever Chemicals are removed from drinking water"

Today, April 10, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) issued the first-ever national, legally enforceable drinking water standard to protect communities from exposure to harmful per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals.” Exposure to PFAS has been linked to deadly cancers, impacts to the liver and heart, and immune and developmental damage to infants and children. The final rule will reduce PFAS exposure for approximately 100 million people, prevent thousands of deaths, and reduce tens of thousands of serious illnesses.

"Nearly 130,000 children exposed to lead-tainted drinking water in Chicago"

Study says the 19% of kids using unfiltered tap water have about twice as much lead in their blood as they would otherwise

About 129,000 Chicago children under the age of six are exposed to poisonous lead in their household drinking water because of lead pipes, according to a study published on Monday.

The study used artificial intelligence to analyse 38,000 home water tests conducted for the city of Chicago, along with neighborhood demographics, state blood samples and numerous other factors.

It found that Black and Latino residents are more likely to have lead-contaminated water because of lead pipes. And it estimated that the 19% of Chicago children who use unfiltered tap water as their primary drinking source have about twice as much lead in their blood as they would.

"Arizona will soon allow 'toilet-to-tap' drinking water"

Arizona cities and utilities will soon be able to get permits to deliver drinking water to faucets that just days earlier had been flushed down the toilet.

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality on Monday took the required legal steps to publish the draft rules for what it calls “advanced water purification.’’

Final approval could come by the end of the year, paving the way for water suppliers to construct the facilities, said Randall Matas, the department’s deputy director.

The technology is good enough to produce water purer than the treated groundwater or surface water now being delivered, Matas said. He said it even removes chemicals that aren’t prohibited by the Safe Water Drinking Act.

But the question remains of whether Arizonans will accept it, even after it’s been discussed and debated for decades.

"City of Hinesville Lifts Boil Water Advisory"

The following press release was issued by the City of Hinesville on Monday, November 18, 2024.

The City of Hinesville is issuing this advisory to all customers connected to the City of Hinesville water system at the following locations;

Taylor Rd
Georgia Ave
Elizabeth St
Ogden St
North Main
Armstead
West General Stewart
Caroline St
This is due to the repair of a water main break on General Stewart Way, which may be disrupting your water supply or causing water pressure in parts of the water system to drop to very low levels. The advisory is being issued out of an abundance of caution – there is the potential a health hazard may exist due to microbial contamination in these areas without positive pressure.

"Commission members balk on 5 proposed PFAS standards"

Members of the commission charged with adopting rules to protect the state’s air and water resources voted this week to pursue health-based standards for only three PFAS prevalent in North Carolina drinking water sources. The Environmental Management Commission’s groundwater and waste management committee Wednesday afternoon declined to recommend to the full commission all eight per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances included in proposed rules set forth by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, or DEQ.

"Contaminated Drinking Water Found in Colorado Schools—Report"

Lead contaminated water has been detected in Colorado's 10 largest school districts, according to a new report.

An analysis released by the Colorado Public Interest Research Group (CoPIRG) on Thursday showed that over 2,000 water fixtures across the 10 districts tested positive for high levels of lead and that even a year after testing, more than half have yet to be fixed. The report was conducted as part of the group's ""Get the Lead Out"" campaign that calls on schools to eliminate lead from kids' drinking water.

"‘Forever chemicals’ in Nevada’s water could threaten public health"

Cancer-causing chemicals in Nevada’s water supply might be here to stay.

But multiple government bodies are attacking the problem head-on, especially with new regulations and $10 million in funding handed down from the Environmental Protection Agency.

PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are chemicals used to resist heat, oil, stains and water in a wide array of products from furniture to food packaging and cooking utensils. They don’t break down easily and can build up, or bio-accumulate, in people’s bodies and in the environment over time, potentially causing health problems like cancer or thyroid issues.