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Tuesday, April 6th, 2021

We Sampled Tap Water Across the US – and Found Arsenic, Lead and Toxic Chemicals

Author:     Ryan Felton, Lisa Gill and Lewis Kendall
Source:     Reader Supported News
Publication Date:     31 March 21
 Link: We Sampled Tap Water Across the US – and Found Arsenic, Lead and Toxic Chemicals
Stephan:   I have been writing about this issue for over a decade. When I was younger and traveled a great deal internationally for me the sign of whether a country was developed or developing was whether you could drink water from the tap safely. The United States back in the 1960s defined itself in part by the fact that in America you could turn on any tap and be safe. Well, today that is no longer true, or even close to true. Our infrastructure is falling apart and I think you should be very aware that not a single Republican voted or will vote for the Biden bills to bring our water systems, bridges, electricity grid, and on and on into the 21st century.

In Connecticut, a condo had lead in its drinking water at levels more than double what the federal government deems acceptable. At a church in North Carolina, the water was contaminated with extremely high levels of potentially toxic PFAS chemicals ( a group of compounds found in hundreds of household products). The water flowing into a Texas home had both – and concerning amounts of arsenic too.

All three were among locations that had water tested as part of a nine-month investigation by Consumer Reports (CR) and the Guardian into the US’s drinking water.

Since the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972, access to safe water for all Americans has been a US government goal. Yet millions of people continue to face serious water quality problems because of contamination, deteriorating infrastructure, and inadequate treatment at water plants.

CR and the Guardian selected 120 people from around the US, out of a pool of more than 6,000 volunteers, to test for arsenic, lead, PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), and other contaminants. The samples came from water systems that together service more […]

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