Is Canada’s tap water safe? Thousands of test results show high lead levels across the country. Hundreds of thousands of Canadians could be drinking water with dangerous lead levels.
Many cities said that some of the hundreds of thousands of lead pipes underground would likely not be replaced for decades. In addition, the cities also said it was difficult to co-ordinate replacements since they would require property owners to pay for changing lead pipes on the private side of the property line.
In addition, the journalists working on this investigation interviewed nearly 1,000 people and filed more than 700 requests through freedom-of-information legislation to get access to the thousands of municipal water sample test results, which were never previously posted publicly. These add up to a collection of about 79,000 results since 2004.
I know water crises are global these days, but the coal miners in west Virginia are getting chemical burns from their water.
And before all the "anti-fossil fuel" people come at me- coal miners are not your enemy. All the creatures that depend on this water are dying. The government is claiming it's safe because they're only testing for bacteria- it's too toxic for most of the bacteria that they test for to survive. You can't boil the smell of paint thinner out of water.
This isn't just a human rights and welfare issues, it's also an extreme environment crisis. These are impoverished, exploited people desperate for help.
Explanation of the GoFundMe is under the cut
This fundraiser is raising money to purchase safe drinking water for people in Wyoming and McDowell Counties in West Virginia's coal camps. All proceeds will go directly to Sweet Springs Institute, Inc, a West Virginia local 501(c)3, and 100% of funds raised will be used to purchase water for local residents.
Currently, thousands of people in these two counties, the poorest counties in the United States, are without access to safe water. Their water comes out in shades of gray, black, and brown, smells like paint thinner, and causes immediate rashes and lesions on the skin. It is not safe to be consumed or even touched.
Independent tests show lead, arsenic, and aluminum levels hundreds of parts per million over the legal safe limits. Local residents have had stream water tested to reveal the water has surfactants in it-- an industrial chemical used to separate coal from impurities.
Residents are collecting water from roadside streams because they cannot afford to purchase water from grocery stores.
The coal and natural gas industries have created horrifying living conditions for West Virginians who have suffered exploitation and poverty to power the country and keep the lights on for over 150 years.
If we end up raising more money than is necessary for the local demand for water, or if state or federal emergency efforts finally respond by providing water, then we will use remaining funds to provide other emergency response provisions to locals that may include food, clothing, water filtration, or independent testing of soil and water safety.
Every week, Eco India brings you stories that inspire you to build a cleaner, greener and better tomorrow.
Dye-infused effluent worsens India's water crisis. A fabric workshop and chemical firm in Gujarat have some ideas — from harvesting rainwater to bio-remediation via canna — and using sustainable pigments.
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Credits
Supervising Producer: Nooshin Mowla
Field Producer & Script: Aadya Baoni
Video Editor: Richard Kujur Associate Producer: Ipsita Basu
Abridged version: They're still chipping away at the original amount. They'll have to have **at least** bottled water until Monday
Annnd as of last night we don't have water again. I went to take the dog out and heard rushing water under the house. There's another leak. Hopefully it's where they fixed 2 weeks ago because they guarantee their work for 2 years and will fix it free. If it's anywhere else we're fucked and have to eat the cost on another expensive two repair we can't afford.School starts in like a week... I'm so done. They won't be here until Monday unless there's a cancelation
Original post:8/1
Alright now y'all, they've been w/o water since Saturday, with kiddos, its summer. Plumber is there now trying to assess etc. Its gonna be several hundred, absolutely egregious amount that is beyond their means and control. We'll take whatever you can give this family and be grateful for it.
At least 18 million Americans are drinking tap water from water systems that have violated federal rules for lead safety, government figures show, due to widespread failures in the testing, monitoring, and enforcement of federal drinking water standards. For many other people, the system isn’t working well enough for us to do much more than guess whether their water is safe to drink, an NRDC analysis of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency records has found.
As we are seriously off-track to meet SDG6, this year is about accelerating change. The more people talk about global issues, the more action will be taken - on personal and on governmental level as well. We decided to contribute to the campaign with some posters you are free (and encouraged!) to share on social media. Give people the chance to talk about the importance of freshwater. You can find more info and all the posters here.