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Clean Water Crisis Threatens US

           

Aerial view overlooking landscaping on April 4, 2015 in San Diego, California.  Photo: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images

by Sarah Ferris and Peter Sullivan - April 25, 2016

The United States is on the verge of a national crisis that could mean the end of clean, cheap water.

Hundreds of cities and towns are at risk of sudden and severe shortages, either because available water is not safe to drink or because there simply isn’t enough of it.

The situation has grown so dire the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence now ranks water scarcity as a major threat to national security alongside terrorism.

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Flint Water Crisis: What's in that Contaminated Water

          

LeeAnne Walters shows water samples from her Flint home. Photograph: Ryan Garza/AP

theguardian.com - by Mona Chalabi - January 22, 2016

. . . Here are some fast facts about just what’s in the Flint water and how it came to pass.

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Toledo Mayor Lifts Drinking Water Ban Affecting 400,000 Residents

      

Algae near a Toledo water intake crib in Lake Erie. Photograph: Haraz N Ghanbari/AP

Mayor of Ohio city deems water safe after tests had suggested dangerous toxin levels likely due to Lake Erie algae blooms

CLICK HERE - City of Toledo - Water in Toledo declared safe for consumption

Farming and climate change at root of Toledo problem

theguardian.com - Associated Press in Toledo - August 4, 2014

A water ban that had hundreds of thousands of people in Ohio and Michigan scrambling for drinking water has been lifted, Toledo’s mayor announced Monday.

Mayor D Michael Collins lifted the ban at a Monday morning news conference, and said the city’s drinking water is safe.

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Showering Declared Potential Hazard in Toledo, Ohio

      

cbsnews.com - AP - August 3, 2014

TOLEDO, Ohio - Residents of Ohio's fourth largest city are now being warned about potential hazards from taking a shower.

The Toledo-Lucas County Health Department said late Saturday that, at the urging of the Centers for Disease Control, it is advising that those with liver disease should avoid showering. This applies only to those who get their water service from the city of Toledo's water treatment plant.

The department now also says that those with sensitive skin may want to avoid showering because the water could cause irritation, reports CBS affiliate WTOL in Toledo.

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UPDATE: Do-Not-Drink Water Advisory Issued for City of Toledo, in Effect Until Further Notice

National Wildlife Federation CEO Collin O’Mara checks out the algal bloom in Western Lake Erie near the water intake facility for the City of Toledo during a visit to the site with local and national officials and local media. Toledo Free Press photo by Sarah Ottney

toledofreepress.com - August 3, 2014

The City of Toledo issued an urgent water advisory early Saturday morning. The advisory is still in effect as of Sunday.

City of Toledo residents and regional residents (including portions of Lucas, Wood, Fulton and Monroe counties) who receive water from the city are asked to not drink city water until further notice, including water that has been boiled. Water should also not be given to pets.

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(ALSO SEE RELATED ARTICLE HERE )

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Detroit Residents Fight Back Over Water Shutoff: It's a Life-or-Death Situation

Of 178 homes whose water was shut off last week, 79 had restarted their supplies, triggering $21,750 in fines on top of what the residents already owed. Photograph: James Fassinger

The beleaguered city says a water shutoff is essential to recoup $89m in overdue bills. But the decision has outraged thousands of Detroiters – who have taken matters into their own hands

theguardian.com - by Jon Swaine - July 21, 2014

When the coast is clear, and the trucks from the contractor shutting off water for the city of Detroit have rolled away, the men with water keys come.

They offer residents whose supply has just been shut off a tempting deal. For $20, they will use their tools to turn the water main back on immediately, and illegally, sparing the household the agonising days spent without showering, cooking or flushing that have already been endured by at least 16,000 of their neighbours so far this year.

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What Happens When Detroit Shuts Off the Water of 100,000 People

      

Eric Thayer/Reuters

Some run dry—and others pay $30 for plumbers to illegally turn the taps back on.

theatlantic.com - by Rose Hackman - July 17, 2014

When the water trucks arrived near Arlyssa Heard’s home on the west side of Detroit at the end of June, the 42-year-old single mother of two said it felt like the entire neighborhood was being taken over. . .

. . . It may not have been a police crackdown, but what she witnessed was definitely a crackdown of a sort. Since last year, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department has been turning off water at the homes of customers behind on their bills.

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Plastics pollution study will be conducted on Great Lakes

submitted by Albert Gomez

www.plasticstoday.com - by Heather Caliendo - June 22nd, 2012

While much talk and discussion centers on plastic waste in the Pacific gyre, a new study will be conducted this summer on the Great Lakes, including Lake Erie.

This study will assess for the first time the potential effect plastic pollution has on these bodies of water. It's expected to provide data regarding the levels of discarded plastics from trash to tiny particles found in the lakes, as well as examine their impact on food supplies, according to an article on Cleveland.com.

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Plastics pollution study will be conducted on Great Lakes

submitted by Albert Gomez

www.plasticstoday.com - by Heather Caliendo - June 22nd, 2012

While much talk and discussion centers on plastic waste in the Pacific gyre, a new study will be conducted this summer on the Great Lakes, including Lake Erie.

This study will assess for the first time the potential effect plastic pollution has on these bodies of water. It's expected to provide data regarding the levels of discarded plastics from trash to tiny particles found in the lakes, as well as examine their impact on food supplies, according to an article on Cleveland.com.

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Power Plant Mercury Emissions Poisoning the Great Lakes

Poisoning the Great Lakes: Mercury Emissions from Coal-Fired Power Plants In the Great Lakes Region (54 page .PDF file)
http://www.nrdc.org/air/files/poisoning-the-great-lakes.pdf

switchboard.nrdc.org - Thom Cmar's Blog - June 8, 2012

This week we released a report, Poisoning the Great Lakes: Mercury Emissions from Coal Fired Power Plants in the Great Lakes Region, which highlights the impacts of mercury emissions from Great Lakes power plants on the people, fish, birds, and wildlife of our region.  EPA recently issued new nationwide Mercury and Air Toxics Standards that require power plants to cut their mercury emissions by 90% on average, as well as to make similar cuts to their emissions of arsenic, lead, acid gases, and other toxic air pollution.  

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