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Saturday, February 17th, 2018

“The Water Stinks.” For Many Rural Americans the Only Choice Is Toxic.

Author:     SARAH JONES and EMILY ATKIN
Source:     Mother Jones
Publication Date:     FEB. 15, 2018 6:00 AM
 Link: “The Water Stinks.” For Many Rural Americans the Only Choice Is Toxic.
Stephan:   Yet another report on the state of tap water in the United States, particularly in rural areas, a true measure of the state of American infrastructure. Depending on where you are you can't be assured that what comes out of the tap is truly potable, as this report describes. We've spent 5.6 trillion in Afghanistan and Iraq, and have what to show for it? How out of whack do things have to get? Pay attention to this: You can already see the drive to privatize water instead of seeing if as a community effort. This is all part of the Neo-feudalism Trend. As we are going water will become a commercial commodity not a right. Stories like this always make me think of myself in Mr. Pattison's history class reading the European history that led to World War I and wondering, why couldn't they see where they were headed? Then I ask myself how is this current situation going to look 100 years from now. Not pretty.

Dirty water coming out of a rural tap.
Credit: Getty Stock

“I’ll be honest with you,” said Gary Michael Hunt. “You never know when you go in there and turn on the faucet if you have water, or if you ain’t going to have no water.” Hunt, a former coal miner who lives in Martin County, Kentucky, said he has had reliability and safety issues with his drinking water for about 25 years—including water permeated by excessive amounts of disinfectant chemicals. “The water stinks. It’s cloudy-looking,” he explained. Hunt’s not alone: More than a thousand of his neighbors in Martin County regularly have to deal with creaky faucets that sometimes spew liquids of various scents and hues.

The county water board says these issues stem from old, busted-up water infrastructure and a “bleak” financial situation. To solve it, the board proposed raising water bills. That did not go well. At a fiscal-court meeting on January 11, Hunt stood up, used profanity, and shook a finger in the board’s direction. […]

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1 Comment

  1. Mark R on Saturday, February 17, 2018 at 9:03 am

    As our indigenous brothers and sisters reminded us in 2015 & 2106 – WATER IS LIFE. Stephen is right on the MONEY! The puppet masters wasted trillions on wars instead of taking care of our own people. This alone should be proof enough that the U.S. government (and the oligarchs that run it) do not and will not work in the interest of the people of the United States of America. It is up to us to come together to take care of ourselves and each other now.