A recent report from the Natural Resources Defense Council examined data provided by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The data showed that more than 5,000 community water systems serving approximately 18 million Americans may have concentrations of lead that exceed EPA standards. You can see a more in-depth report here: www.wxxv25.com/2016/06/28/5000-american-water-systems-violate-lead-rules
Fortunately, we have the EPA to protect us…right? Nope. Of the 7,783 documented violations of the EPA’s “Lead and Copper Rule,” the EPA only took a formal enforcement action in only 907 cases. What? That means that the EPA only responded to 11% of the reported violations. How could that be?
Of course, the report will set off alarms in various self-righteous activist groups that the EPA has to “do something”. However, the reality is that there is no point in blaming the EPA as they are massively under-staffed and under-funded.
The EPA faces a never-ending battle that it is not going to win. People want lower taxes and the money has to come from somewhere. Unfortunately, something as basic and necessary as protecting our drinking water doesn’t get the attention of legislators who have lobbyists lined up to buy their votes.
Our water supply isn’t getting cleaner, its getting worse.
The funding required to keep our water safe isn’t coming in the near future, or perhaps ever.
More than half of Americans have been force-fed fluoride in their drinking water for years. Fluoride is a poison and we should not be adding it to our drinking water. The Natural Resources Defense Council announcement last week provides clear evidence that municipalities don’t follow the rules. Worse still, they are not being held accountable when they do break the rules. When there is a 90% chance that you can get away with violating the rules even when you do get caught, what will a municipality do when they have to find a means of cutting corners to meet a budget? What will be the next poison in our water that we will be reading about?
It is not my goal to scare readers. I’m not here trying to sell you something. However, whether you like it or not, you need to take responsibility for the safety of your drinking water. You can rely upon your municipality and hope for the best. Or, you can learn how to filter your water to keep it safe. There are low cost water filtration solutions that can help keep you and your family safe.
I will be writing soon about ways to remove specific toxins like fluoride (there has been a recent technological breakthrough that offers a low cost solution that actually works) and lead (a poisonous heavy metal that may be in your drinking water due to your municipality or from original fixtures in your own home).