Fracking’s Wastewater: An Unregulated Environmental Hazard
As reported by the US Energy Information Administration, natural gas production in the United States is higher than it has ever been. This is largely due to the increase of shale gas over the past decade, made possible through hydraulic fracturing (fracking). However, this process creates large amounts of wastewater called brine or produced water, […]
Purifying Water During a Crisis
Your tap water may not be accessible or safe to use after an emergency, such as a water main break, hurricane, or flood. When it comes to avoiding illness from unsafe water, remember that in some cases boiling or filtering won’t be enough to make contaminated water safe for consumption. If you know or suspect […]
Collapse in Water Systems Puts Rural America at Risk
A perfect storm of unsound agricultural regulation, dwindling populations, and old infrastructure is ravaging small water systems across rural America and endangering public health. In the United States, almost 60 thousand community water systems serve 93 percent of people living in areas with populations fewer than 10,000—67 percent serving populations of 500 or less. In […]
The Rising Crisis: Water Pollution
An expanding population, drought, and water inefficiency have all contributed to a freshwater crisis that is endangering our planet’s lakes, rivers, streams, groundwater sources, and eventually oceans. A range of pollutants from large pieces of garbage to invisible chemicals pollute these freshwater sources which we rely on for critical needs like drinking water. A recent […]
Protecting the Waters of the United States
Cities used to dump raw sewage in America’s rivers before the Clean Water Act. Chemical waste was discharged into streams, lakes, and oceans by industrial businesses. More than half of the country’s wetlands were destroyed since at least 1980 when records began. In the past 50 years, thanks to the Clean Water Act, our rivers […]
Everything You Must Know About Water Pollution
This widespread problem of water pollution is jeopardizing our health. Unsafe water kills more people each year than war and all other forms of violence combined. Meanwhile, our drinkable water sources are finite: less than 1 percent of the earth’s freshwater is actually accessible to us. Without action, the challenges will only increase by 2050, […]
Why Testing the Quality of Your Water Is Important
In Connecticut, a condo’s drinking water contained lead at levels more than double the federal government’s acceptable amount. At a church in North Carolina, the water was contaminated with extremely high levels of potentially toxic PFAS chemicals. The water flowing into a Texas home had both arsenic and concerning amounts of lead. The three were […]
The Ongoing Battle Against Water Pollution
According to the World Health Organization, 3.5 million people die each year as a result of water-related illnesses, such as dysentery and cholera. The majority of those who succumb to infections linked to unclean water are children under the age of five, accounting for roughly 60% (2.2 million) of all fatalities. When you combine all […]
Congress Takes a Look at the Clean Water Funding Formula
The wheels are beginning to turn in Capitol Hill as lawmakers revisit the formula used to divide hundreds of millions of dollars in wastewater infrastructure aid among the states each year. The 1987 Water Quality Act was the starting point for what would become today’s primary federal funding source for wastewater treatment projects: Clean Water […]
How Safe Is Your Water at Home? Probably Not as Safe as You Think…
10% of all American households have water leaks. Federal estimates say those leaks waste up to 90 gallons daily, and some local residential water supplies are now so polluted it is hard to find clean drinking water. Thus, we must ask ourselves — how safe is the tap water in our homes to consume? When […]
