Regulation March 22, 2010
U.S. Bolsters Chemical Restrictions for Water
By CHARLES DUHIGG
The agency’s administrator wants stricter regulations on four chemical compounds that can cause cancer.
Sewer
Systems
March 15, 2010
Saving U.S. Water and Sewer Systems Would Be Costly
By CHARLES DUHIGG
Ruptures in aging water systems cause pollutants to seep into water supplies, but in many cities residents have protested rate increases to fix pipes.
Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times
As head of Washington's water department, George Hawkins, left, is on the scene every time a major sewer or water line breaks.
Regulation March 1, 2010
Rulings Restrict Clean Water Act, Hampering E.P.A.
By CHARLES DUHIGG and JANET ROBERTS
Thousands of the nation’s largest water polluters are outside the E.P.A.’s reach because the Supreme Court has left uncertain which waterways are protected.
David Walter Banks for The New York Times
Ducks at the mouth of Avondale Creek in Alabama, into which a pipe maker dumped oil, lead and zinc. A court ruled the waterway was exempt from the Clean Water Act.
Drinking
Water
December 16, 2009
Tap Water Can Be Unhealthy but Still Legal
By CHARLES DUHIGG
The 35-year-old federal law regulating tap water is so out of date that the water Americans drink can pose what scientists say are serious health risks — and still be legal.
Monica Almeida/The New York Times
Samples of tap water from Maywood, Calif., where laboratory tests have shown toxic levels of chemicals in the city’s tap water. When residents asked for cleaner water, they were told the water satisfied the Safe Drinking Water Act.
- What’s in Your Water?
Browse contaminant levels from water systems throughout the nation:
Tainted Tap Water
In Maywood, Calif., located near downtown Los Angeles, tap water often comes out brown and contains harmful levels of dangerous chemicals.
Drinking
Water
December 7,
2009
Millions in U.S. Drink Contaminated Water, Records Show
By CHARLES DUHIGG
More than 20 percent of water treatment systems have violated key provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Andrew Sullivan for The New York Times
The water system in Ramsey, N.J., has illegal concentrations of arsenic and the solvent tetrachloroethylene, both linked to cancer.
Sewage November 23, 2009
Sewers at Capacity, Waste Poisons Waterways
By CHARLES DUHIGG
Many sewer systems are frequently overwhelmed, with sewage spilling into waterways and polluting them with excrement and industrial chemicals.
Damon Winter/The New York Times
A worker maintaining a tank at a Brooklyn wastewater treatment plant. Half the rainstorms in New York overwhelm the system.
Polluted Harbors
Aging sewer systems and urban storm runoff are two of the worst sources of water pollution in the United States. In Newport, R.I., residents live with regular beach closings and sewage overflows.
Power
Plants
October 12, 2009
Cleansing the Air at the Expense of Waterways
By CHARLES DUHIGG
Even as a growing number of coal-burning power plants around the nation have moved to reduce their air emissions, many of them are creating another problem: water pollution. Power plants are the nation's biggest source of toxic waste, and while much of that waste once went into the sky, because of toughened air pollution laws, it now often goes into lakes and rivers, or landfills that have leaked into nearby groundwater, say regulators and environmentalists.
Damon Winter/The New York Times
Father Rodney Torbic, the priest at the St. George Serbian Orthodox Church, lives across the road from Hatfield’s Ferry and sees people suffering.
From Air to Water Waste
Waste from the Hatfield's Ferry power plant in Masontown, Pa., that once went into the sky is now going into the Monongahela River, which provides drinking water to 350,000 people.
Agricultural Runoff September 17, 2009
Health Ills Abound as Farm Runoff Fouls Wells
By CHARLES DUHIGG
Agricultural runoff is the single biggest source of water pollution in the nation’s rivers and streams, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Yet farm waste is largely unregulated by many of the federal laws designed to prevent pollution and protect drinking water sources.
Damon Winter/The New York Times
Dangerous pollutants in drinking water can be traced to the runoff of waste from farm animals.
The Danger of Livestock Waste
In Idaho, excess dairy waste that is spread over fields could be leaching into the groundwater and compromising rural drinking wells.
Industrial Waste September 12, 2009
Pollution Grows With Little Fear of Punishment
By CHARLES DUHIGG
Almost four decades after Congress passed the Clean Water Act, the rate of water pollution violations is rising steadily. In the past five years, companies and workplaces have violated pollution laws more than 500,000 times. But the vast majority of polluters have escaped punishment.
Damon Winter/The New York Times
Ryan Massey, 7, shows his caps. Dentists near Charleston, W. Va. say pollutants in drinking water have damaged residents’ teeth.
Video: Coal in the Water
Jennifer Hall-Massey explains how water pollution, which she believes is caused by nearby coal companies, has impacted her family and community.
Herbicides August 22, 2009
Debating How Much Weed Killer Is Safe in Your Water Glass
By CHARLES DUHIGG
Atrazine has become among the most common contaminants in American reservoirs and other sources of drinking water. New research suggests that the weed killer may be dangerous at lower concentrations than previously thought, particularly for fetuses.
Mark Lyons for The New York Times
In Piqua, Ohio, the city manager, Frederick Enderle, left, said he was unaware of spikes in atrazine. Residents like Jeff Lange are angry about the risks.
Resources
These Web sites may be helpful for anyone seeking to learn more about water quality, pollution or how to evaluate or treat their drinking water.
- DRINKING WATER
- The Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water Environmental Protection Agency
- Local Drinking Water System Lookup Environmental Protection Agency
- Drinking Water and Ground Water Statistics for 2008 (PDF) Environmental Protection Agency
- Drinking Water and Ground Water Statistics - 1998-2008 Environmental Protection Agency
- An Assessment of Water Quality From Domestic Wells U.S. Geological Survey
- A National Assessment of Tap Water Quality The Environmental Working Group
- ARSENIC IN DRINKING WATER
- Draft assessment on arsenic, raising the toxicity determinations Environmental Protection Agency
- Arsenic in Drinking Water, 2001 Update National Academy of Science
- A history of rule-making regarding arsenic in drinking water Environmental Protection Agency
- Arsenic in Drinking Water and Adult Mortality Epidemiology
- STUDIES REGARDING ILLNESSES AND DRINKING WATER
- How to Access Local Drinking Water Information Environmental Protection Agency
- National Public Water Systems Compliance Report, 1996-Present Environmental Protection Agency
- Risk of Waterborne Illness via Drinking Water in the United States National Center for Biotechnology Information
- Quality of Water from Domestic Wells in Principal Aquifers of the United States, 1991–2004 United States Geological Survey
- Drinking-Water Herbicide Exposure in Indiana and Prevalence of Small-for-Gestational-Age and Preterm Delivery Environmental Health Perspectives
- Health Risk of Bathing in Southern California Coastal Waters Archives of Environmental and Occupational Health
- The Association of Drinking Water Source and Chlorination Byproducts with Cancer Incidence Among Postmenopausal Women in Iowa American Journal of Public Health
- Cancer and Drinking Water in Louisiana: Colon and Rectum International Journal of Epidemiology
- WATER FILTERS
- Consumer Guide to Water Filters Natural Resources Defense Council
- CHEMICALS AND RISK ASSESSMENTS
- Safe Drinking Water Act Standards Environmental Protection Agency
- Drinking Water Health Advisories Environmental Protection Agency
- Integrated Risk Information System Environmental Protection Agency
- Health-Based Screening Levels United States Geological Survey
- GOVERNMENT ASSESSMENTS ON TETRACHLOROETHYLENE (PERC), TRICHLOROETHYLENE AND PERCHLORATE
- IRIS Assessment of Perchlorate Environmental Protection Agency
- Internal Assessment on Tetrachloroethylene in Rats Environmental Protection Agency
- Internal Assessment on Tetrachloroethylene: Toxicological Review Environmental Protection Agency
- National Academy of Sciences on Tetrachloroethylene National Academy of Sciences
- Trichloroethylene: Assessing the Human Health Risks National Academy of Sciences