By Tynnetta Harris
From lead pipes to PFAS, drinking water contamination is a major issue plaguing cities and towns all around the Great Lakes. Cleaning up contaminants and providing safe water to everyone is an ongoing public health struggle.
Keep up with drinking water-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois:
- 8M Illinoisans get drinking water from a utility where forever chemicals have been detected, investigation finds | State and Regional | pantagraph.com – Something as simple as drinking tap water is exposing millions of Illinoisans to toxic chemicals that build up in human blood, cause cancer and other diseases and take years to leave the body.
- Groups call for water infrastructure testing in Illinois prisons | WSIU – After reports of water contamination in Illinois prisons, groups are calling on the state to conduct a top-down review of the water and sewer systems in the facilities.
Indiana:
- Citizens Energy uses backup reservoir as drought persists | wthr.com – The drought in central Indiana could threaten the water supply if not for a backup reservoir that’s keeping water flowing in several crucial bodies of water.
Michigan:
- Governor Whitmer Awards MI Clean Water Grants to Help Six Communities Protect and Improve Drinking Water, Upgrade Water Infrastructure – michigan.gov – Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer awarded more than $5 million under the MI Clean Water Plan to help six communities improve drinking water systems and ensure clean and reliable drinking water for residents.
- Michigan spent $53M in Flint water crisis; Benton Harbor lawsuits looming | Michigan | The Center Square – (The Center Square) – Current and possible future legal bills are piling up on Michigan taxpayers for water quality problems.
- State of Michigan reminds City of Benton Harbor residents of resources, guidance after their lead service lines are replaced – michigan.gov -The State of Michigan is reminding City of Benton Harbor residents of available resources and guidance after their lead service lines are replaced to help protect their families from lead exposure. As of July 14, nearly 74% of lead service lines in the city have now been replaced with new copper lines.
- Benton Harbor drinking water lead level slowly improving – michiganradio – It’s taken four years, but Benton Harbor’s drinking water is once again within federal action levels for lead. Barely.
- Millions still get water from hazardous lead pipes. Is AI the key to removing them? | KATU – The health impacts of lead in drinking water are well known. But nearly a decade after the Flint, Michigan water crisis raised alarms about contamination, there are still millions of lead pipes delivering water to families throughout the U.S.
Minnesota:
- Minnesota Native American tribes sue Environmental Protection Agency – sahanjournal – Two northern Minnesota Native American tribes have sued the United States Environmental Protection Agency in a bid to reverse recent changes the state made to its water quality standards. The tribes argue the changes are likely to damage wild rice and pollute waters on their reservations and treaty-protected lands.
New York:
- New York Fire Departments Receive Emergency Drinking Water from Anheuser-Busch and the National Volunteer Fire Council to Support Wildfire Relief Efforts – prnewswire – ST. LOUIS, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ – – This summer, Anheuser-Busch is teaming up with the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) for the fourth consecutive year to donate emergency drinking water to volunteer fire departments nationwide, including more than 25,500 cans to 7 fire departments in New York to help them be ready for the 2022 wildlife season.
- Seneca Lake Guardian Claims Seneca Meadows Landfill Is Poisoning Drinking Water – geneseesun – Seneca Lake Guardian is now setting its sights on closing the state’s largest landfill in Seneca Falls called “Seneca Meadows.”
Ohio:
- Toxic algal blooms are driving up water costs in the Great Lakes | Salon.com – In Toledo, Ohio, monitoring and treating algae-contaminated water from Lake Erie costs $100 per family per year.
- Northeast Ohio communities receive $219.5 million from EPA – news-herald – Multiple areas throughout Northeast Ohio are receiving $219.5 million in low-interest and principal forgiveness funding from Ohio Environmental Protection Agency in efforts to improve wastewater and drinking water infrastructure, in addition to other water quality and system improvements.
Ontario:
- Council happy on decreased TCE in sealed Penetanguishene wells – yahoo – Penetanguishene council expressed joy that their drinking water is getting cleaner.
Pennsylvania:
- EQT stops fracking at site in Greene County after claim of water contamination; DEP investigating | StateImpact Pennsylvania – npr – The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is investigating several complaints possibly related to an incident at a fracking site in Greene County in June.
Wisconsin:
- Wisconsin DNR updates | Waterloo / Marshall Courier | hngnews – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced the city of Racine is an applicant for funding through the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program (SDWLP) to improve its public drinking water system. The project includes the replacement of lead service lines throughout the city of Racine.
Catch more news at Great Lakes Now:
On Isle Royale, fate of summer cabins pits nature against family history
EPA Warns of Health Problems When PFAS Levels in Drinking Water Are Inconceivably Tiny
