Threats Rising for U.S. Public Water Supplies

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http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2003/2003-06-11-10.asp

 

Threats Rising for U.S. Public Water Supplies

 

 

WASHINGTON, DC, June 11, 2003 (ENS) - Many Americans take the safety of their

tap water for granted, but that faith could be misguided. In a report released

today, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) says that aging

infrastructure, source water pollution and outdated treatment technology are

combining to increase the potential health risks from public drinking water for

many residents in 19 of the nation's largest cities.

NRDC's review of tap water quality in 19 municipalities rated three problem

areas - water quality and compliance, source water protection, and right-to-know

compliance.

The report " What's on Tap? Grading Drinking Water in U.S. Cities " finds that

although drinking water purity has improved slightly during the past 15 years in

most cities, overall tap water quality varies widely from city to city and many

cities are failing to take long term steps needed to ensure the safety of their

water supplies.

" Clean drinking water has been one of the major public health triumphs of the

past 100 years, " said Dr. David Ozonoff, a professor at Boston University's

School of Public Health.

" We have figured out how to build very efficient water delivery systems, "

Ozonoff explained. " But these systems can either provide safe drinking water, or

deliver poisons and harmful organisms into every home, school and workplace. One

misstep can lead to disaster, so we must vigorously protect our watersheds and

use the best technology to purify our tap water. " More than 240 million

Americans use tap water from public systems to drink, bath and cook. (Photo

courtesy City of Everett, Washington)The report calls for increased investment

in infrastructure to upgrade deteriorating water systems and modernize treatment

techniques, and for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to strengthen

and enforce existing health standards and develop new standards for contaminants

that remain unregulated.

In addition, it recommends that state and municipal authorities adopt standards,

and purchase land or easements that restrict land use to safeguard water as well

as protect watersheds and areas above aquifers draining into water supplies.

It details that healthy city water supplies in the United States resemble each

other in three distinct ways - they have good source water protection,

treatment, and maintenance and operation of the system.

For example, of the 19 cities reviewed by the report, only Chicago's water

quality was rated " excellent " in 2001. Five cities rated good, eight rated fair

and five rated poor.

None failed, but the citizens within the five cities rated poor - Alburquerque,

Boston, Fresno, Phoenix and San Francisco - are drinking tap water is

sufficiently contaminated so as to pose potential health risks. In particular,

pregnant women, infants, children, the elderly and individuals with compromised

immune systems face health risks from tap water in these cities, according to

the report.

The report found an increase in the frequency of periodic spikes in

contamination in many cities, an indication that aging equipment and

infrastructure may be inadequate to handle today's contaminant loads or spills.

The upgrades and repairs needed to ensure the safety of drinking water

nationwide would be costly, the report says, but they are necessary. NRDC

estimates the nationwide cost could be as high as $500 billion.

Although it documented only a small number of cities that were in outright

violation of national standards, the organization says this does not imply low

contaminant levels but rather low standards.

It cites the new EPA standard for arsenic, which decreased the legal level of 50

parts per billion (ppb) - set in 1942 - to 10 ppb, starting in 2006. But the new

standard, which has been the source of much controversy, is a level that the

National Academy of Sciences says presents a lifetime fatal cancer risk of about

1 in 333. Contaminated tap water poses the greatest risks for children,

pregnant mothers, the elderly and the sick. (Photo courtesy U.S. Geological

Survey)This risk, NRDC says, is 30 times greater than what the EPA generally

considers acceptable and more than three times the 3 ppb standard the agency

determined was feasible.

" The mere fact that a city may meet the federal standard for arsenic - or other

high-risk contaminants with weak standards - does not necessarily mean the water

is safe, " according to the report.

NRDC says the EPA should issue new standards for perchlorate, radon,

distribution systems and groundwater microbes. Existing standards for arsenic,

atrazine/total trizenes, chromium, cryptosporidium and other pathogens,

fluoride, haloacetic acids, lead and total trihalomethandes should be

strengthened, the report finds.

Protecting lakes, streams and groundwater that serve as key drinking water

sources is a critical component of a safe water supply. There is a wide range of

possible contaminants that can plague source waters, including municipal sewage,

stormwater runoff, pesticides and fertilizer runoff, as well as industrial

pollution. Safeguarding source water for the nation's drinking supply requires

sizeable investments that many cities are struggling to make. (Photo courtesy

Virginia Department of Health )NRDC's evaluations of the 19 cities found only

Seattle rated excellent for protecting source water. Four cities received a

rating of good, four received a fair rating, and seven rated poor.

The city of Fresno, California, which relies on wells, received a failing grade.

The report found these wells have become seriously contaminated by agricultural

and industrial pollution.

None of the surveyed cities received an excellent rating for mandated

right-to-know reports, which are designed to inform residents about water system

problems. NRDC rated eight good, six fair, three poor, and two - Newark, New

Jersey, and Phoenix, Arizona, - failed.

These reports are required under the 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water

Act, which forces water suppliers to notify the public of dangers in tap water

and inform people about the overall health of their watershed.

But the report details that " in many cases, right-to-know reports have become

propaganda for water suppliers, and the enormous promise of right-to-know

reports has not been achieved. "

The report warns that actions by the Bush administration could further threaten

the purity of the nation's tap water. It notes an administration proposal to

limit the scope of the Clean Water Act and notes that the Bush administration

has declined to strengthen tap water standards or issue new ones for

contaminants and has cut funding for water quality protection programs.

In addition, NRDC criticizes the administration for its refusal to reinstate a

Superfund law provision that forces corporations to pay into a fund to clean up

hazardous waste sites, which can affect important drinking water sources.

" The Bush administration is more concerned about protecting corporate polluters

than protecting public health, " said Erik Olson, the report's principal author

and a senior attorney with NRDC's Public Health Program. " Proposals to end Clean

Water Act protection for most streams, creeks and wetlands will jeopardize city

efforts to provide pure drinking water for its residents. "

The full report can be found at NRDC's site.

 

 

 

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