If you’re wondering why that matters, Renee Bourassa, the director of communications and education with ICPRB, poses this question: “Do you drink water? Everybody drinks water!”
Area streams feed into rivers, and the Potomac River, for example, is the water source for millions of residents in the D.C, area, from the District of Columbia to Arlington, Fairfax and Loudon counties in Virginia.
Bourassa explained that the Chesapeake basin-wide index of biotic integrity, or “Chessie BIBI,” is the yardstick used to measure the water quality.
“It’s a really long way of saying what species (of invertebrate) and how many of them” can be found in the watershed’s streams, she said.
Because invertebrates are sensitive to changes in water quality, Bourassa said, “If we’re finding them in a stream, that’s a good sign it’s a healthy stream.”
The organisms that help tell the story of just how healthy streams are include “creek critters” that spend most of their life in the water before they become “the bugs that we know and love, like dragonflies,” Bourassa said.
“That means the water coming out of your tap might also be a little bit cleaner,” she said.
According to the report, the latest data shows that an estimated two thirds of the 145,000 stream miles of the Chesapeake Bay watershed can be rated as either fair, good or excellent.
The next Chessie BIBI report will cover the years from 2024-29.
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A group of North Carolina health and science leaders is calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to release a long-awaited toxicity report on PFNA, a “forever chemical” found in drinking water systems in North Carolina and nationwide.
The request comes after a ProPublica investigation reported that EPA scientists completed the PFNA toxicity assessment in April and prepared it for public release, citing internal documents and two agency scientists familiar with the report. The assessment has still not been published.
In a letter sent last month to Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., researchers from UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke University, East Carolina University and several former EPA officials urged him to press the agency for transparency. The signatories wrote that without access to the findings, “families in North Carolina, and across the country, [cannot] know their water is safe.”
PFNA, part of the PFAS class of chemicals used in industrial and consumer products, has been linked in scientific studies to developmental effects, liver damage and reproductive harms. It has been detected in drinking water serving an estimated 26 million people, according to the Environmental Working Group.
Dr. Kathleen Shapley-Quinn, the executive director of Carolina Advocates for Climate, Health and Equity, is one of the dozens of North Carolina health experts who signed the letter.
“We know PFNA harms human health, and we need to understand where it is and how much of it is there,” Shapley-Quinn said. “Without that information, we’re swimming in a sea of unknowns.”
Shapley-Quinn, who is a family physician, says the lack of a public report leaves communities unsure whether their water poses a risk — and leaves health officials without the data needed to identify where cleanup or monitoring efforts should be focused.
“Communities that already know they’re affected are worried about what this means for their families,” Shapley-Quinn said. “And in places where we don’t have data, people don’t even know whether to be concerned.”
EPA did not answer specific questions from WRAL about the status of the assessment, when it would be released or what has contributed to the delay. In a statement, the agency said the “Trump EPA is committed to addressing PFAS to ensure that Americans have the cleanest air, land, and water,” and cited ongoing litigation over national PFAS drinking-water standards.
The agency said it intends to defend drinking-water limits for PFOA and PFOS, two of the most studied PFAS chemicals, but is asking a federal court to vacate limits for PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and several mixtures while it reconsiders how those regulations were issued.
The experts’ letter to Rep. Murphy notes that EPA scientists have already completed the work and argues that releasing the assessment is a basic matter of public transparency.
“We still don’t have the information that was rightfully asked for on behalf of the public, who funded this report,” Shapley-Quinn said.
PFAS contamination has been documented in hundreds of North Carolina communities, including extremely high levels in the lower Cape Fear region and areas near military installations. Researchers say the PFNA assessment would help determine whether additional protections are needed.
Rep. Murphy, who co-chairs the GOP Doctors Caucus and represents areas with known PFAS contamination, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
“In the absence of information, it’s unsettling,” Shapley-Quinn said. “But with accurate data, we can make informed choices and reduce risks. That’s what this report is supposed to provide.”
BEAVERVILLE, Ill. (WLS) — What if the water coming out of your faucet was black and smelled?
For the last six months, some residents in one local village say black or discolored water has been disgusting them. They turned to the ABC7 I-Team, because, they say, they want a permanent solution.
Tonja Galderio of Beaverville showed ABC7 her samples and the water coming out of her faucets.
“This is what came out of my hot water heater,” Galderio said.
She continued, “It’s kind of like a slime… That’s kitchen water. Make some pasta with that.”
She says the water smells like rotten eggs, and it has destroyed her sink and clothing.
Galderio and Kathleen Butron say it all started in late May in the village of Beaverville, which is about an hour-and-a-half south of downtown Chicago.
“I have diabetes; I have to make sure my feet are very clean,” Butron said.
“Me, black water. The neighbor on the other side of me, black water,” Galderio said.
In mid-June, the village started distributing bottles of water, but that stopped in early October. Water bills were also paused but have recently resumed. But these women say they are still seeing dark water.
ABC7 emailed the village and Beaverville Mayor Gary Martell several times. When we did not hear back, ABC7 I-Team Consumer Investigator Jason Knowles went to Martell’s door.
Martell did not answer the door, but the Village Water Operator Perry Regnier answered did.
“It’s been taken care of. You need to talk to the board. I don’t have anything to do with talking to the media,” Regnier said.
When Knowles pointed out that Regnier is the water operator, he said, “I’m water operator,” and closed the door.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency told the I-Team that too much manganese is the cause of the discoloration.
The IEPA says the village flushed the system at the end of August and that “a large part of the filter media was missing,” and another filter was not properly operating, possibly increasing the presence of manganese. The IEPA said the filter was recently replaced.
Officials addressed the ongoing concerns in a public meeting about one week ago Monday.
When asked what it is like to have black water coming out of her faucet, Galderio became emotional, saying, “It’s hard.”
The IEPA says while the water is not aesthetically pleasing, the levels of manganese are within range and safe to drink.
The I-Team analyzed 33 IEPA drinking water reports for Beaverville from the last two years and found that the village’s water system contained more than the federal EPA’s aesthetic standard of 50 parts per billion, for manganese, in three tests. One report found manganese levels above 90 parts per billion, nearly twice the federal aesthetic standard.
None of the tests were over 100 parts per billion, but Dr. Tasha Stoiber from the Environmental Working Group says if manganese levels ever went above that 100 ppb number, then babies drinking formula prepared with water could be at risk.
“You would flag those tests of that critical population during those critical stages of development,” Stoiber said.
Stoiber also says dark sediments can be concerning.
“It could spike those concentrations. It doesn’t look good, doesn’t taste good. How do you wash your dishes? How do you wash your clothes? It becomes unusable,” Stoiber said.
A September private analysis of the two residents’ homes in our story found manganese levels at 40 parts per billion, just below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s aesthetic standard. But it also found that the water system’s iron concentration is more than six times the EPA standard. Experts say that it is not inherently dangerous, but it is also contributing to the discolored water and unusual taste.
“And I don’t think anybody would want to drink it, to be honest with you, and even just to bathe in it,” Butron said. “It’s just not right. I mean, I just feel like we’re all due clean water.”
The IEPA says it is committed to working with Beaverville officials to address issues. The village has also faced two recent violations: one related to sample monitoring, and another on a failure to install a “corrosion control treatment,” used to address and/or in copper within the system.
The IEPA says it is working to fix these violations and that testing has shown the water is safe.
BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey is renewing calls for the Trump administration to release federal funding to remove underground lead pipes from drinking water systems after months of delays.
Healey blasted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for continuing to hold back the money from Massachusetts and other states. She said the delays have forced the state to discontinue its lead line replacement program that provides zero-interest loans to communities to identify and remove contamination.
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CHELMSFORD — Officials broke ground Wednesday on a major project to build the Crooked Spring PFAS Treatment Facility for the Chelmsford Water District.
The Crooked Spring facility is Phase 1 of the water district’s larger PFAS remediation project, which also includes a new PFAS treatment facility at the Riverneck Treatment Plant, and a new water main line to connect the Smith Street Treatment Plant. The $43 million project was approved by voters in the water district in the spring of 2024, and the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust Board of Trustees approved a 0% interest loan for the entire project cost. It is being funded through the Massachusetts State Revolving Fund along with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and is estimated to take about two years to completion.
Officials at the groundbreaking included state Reps. Rodney Elliott and Jim Arciero, a representative from state Sen. Michael Barrett’s office, Chelmsford Select Board member Pat Wojtas, members of the Board of Water Commissioners and officials from AECOM Engineering and Design, Waterline Construction and ResilientCE, the owner’s project manager.
The treatment for PFAS, which is shorthand for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, will consist of three process trains of pressurized vessels 12 feet in diameter filled with granular activated carbon, which will remove PFAS chemicals to meet state and federal water quality standards. In 2022, PFAS levels of more than 20 parts-per-trillion were detected in the district’s water.
The project will also include upgrades to the Crooked Springs Water Treatment Plant’s main building and the building of a two-celled spent wash tank with a floating decanting system and recycling pumps.
The Chelmsford Board of Water Commissioners retained legal counsel in May 2021 to prosecute legal claims related to negligence resulting in PFAS contamination in the town’s water supplies. The water district would eventually join a larger, multi-district litigation over PFAS contamination discovered across the country.
PFAS chemicals, sometimes called “forever chemicals,” are manmade substances that do not easily break down in nature, and can build up over time in the environment and in our bodies, causing a wide range of possible health complications. The lawsuits the water district joined allege that corporations like 3M, DuPont, Tyco and BASF knew about the dangers of these chemicals, but concealed them anyway.
In April 2024, 3M settled for $12.5 billion in their case, and a $1.185 billion settlement was preliminarily approved for DuPont earlier that year. In November, a $750 million settlement was approved for Tyco, as was a $316.5 million settlement for BASF.
The Chelmsford Water District received its first payment of $401,951.24 from its gross $4.2 million award in the 3M settlement in June, while the district’s awards from the other settlements are yet to be disbursed. The district separately filed a $44.5 million special needs claim against 3M and DuPont for the expenses related to this PFAS treatment project, as well as an $83,622 special needs lawsuit against Tyco and BASF.
Rhodell, West Virginia — For as long as Roman Patsey of Raleigh County, West Virginia, remembers, the Appalachian Mountains have provided virtually everything he’s needed to survive, from his income as a coal miner, to his tap water.
“I don’t know if it’s safe or not to tell you the truth,” Patsey told CBS News of his tap water source. “But, you know, what are you going to do? You’ve got to drink water.”
He took CBS News to his only source of drinking water for nearly 50 years: an abandoned coal mine near his home. Like so many here, he dug his own trenches and laid his own water lines hundreds of feet up a mountainside.
He says no part of him wondered why access to water should be this difficult.
“No, I just accepted it,” Patsey said. “It was something you had to do. I worried about running out of water, really, for years.”
He said he has never conducted regular tests on the water for possible contaminants.
About 250,000 West Virginia residentsrely on untreated sources of water, like natural springs or aquifers from coal mines, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The median income in this area is around $30,000 per year, according to U.S. Census data, a far cry from the prosperity that the coal industry once created. Coal companies used to fund and operate many town water systems in rural West Virginia. But when the industry declined, so did the water infrastructure it used to maintain. Patsey wanted to see this firsthand. So he, with a CBS News crew in tow, went to a water treatment plant in nearby Kimball, a town of more than 300 people in McDowell County. The plant’s windows are boarded up, the roof is completely missing, and there is rusted metal. Yet, this facility is supposed to clean tap water for the entire community.
Just 20 minutes up the road in Rhodell, a community in Raleigh County, the water treatment plant is also crumbling, with rust covering the pipes and a ceiling that is caved in.
“It’s in pretty bad shape as you can see,” said Shane Bragg with the Raleigh County Public Service District. “The fear is what you can’t see underground and what’s in the mines. We have no way of accessing the pumps in the mines, so when they go, the town will lose water.”
Raleigh County is racing to replace water systems before that happens with help from the nonprofit DigDeep, which works to bring clean tap water to the more than 2.2 million Americans who it says are living without it.
“We’re dealing with a lot of systems that are very expensive to maintain,” said Travis Foreman, director of DigDeep’s Appalachia Water Project. “And the local public service districts, they don’t have the manpower to keep up.”
In Rhodell, DigDeep is bringing clean water to the community for the first time in 10 years. “It is a human right to have access to water,” Foreman said. “…Everyone deserves to have that access.”
For Patsey, it’s a source of hope straight from the tap.
“Not long ago at 4 o’clock in the morning, I turned this on like this, not a drop,” Patsey said while standing at his kitchen sink. “It’s such a peace knowing I’m going to have water here.”
Tom Hanson is a national investigative correspondent for CBS News and Stations. His in-depth reports air across all platforms and programs. He is a member of CBS News and Stations Medical, Health, and Wellness Unit.
In a huge win for public health and the environment, a U.S. District Judge has ordered Chemours Chemical Company to immediately suspend the discharge of dangerous “forever chemicals” into the Ohio River from its facility near Parkersburg, West Virginia.
The Ohio River supplies drinking water to approximately five million Americans, making this ruling a critical protection for communities. Judge Joseph R. Goodwin issued the order and the opinion, ruling that the discharge was far exceeding legal limits.
“This case is simple and all too familiar,” Judge Goodwin said in his opinion. “Those pollutants endanger the environment, aquatic life and human health. Today, that unlawful, unpermitted discharge stops.”
According to West Virginia Watch, Chemours “strongly disagree[d]” with the ruling and plans to appeal, citing how long it would take for the company to become compliant.
“[Chemours’] permit is not a suggestion…its permit protects public health and environmental life while balancing the needs of manufacturing,” Judge Goodwin continued. “I cannot weigh the scales of that balance to inflict further harm on the communities that rely on clean water for life and livelihood.
These “forever chemicals,” otherwise known as PFAS, pose serious threats to human health and ecosystems. They are extremely persistent and resist breaking down, accumulating in the environment, wildlife, and human bodies. Health risks associated with PFAS exposure are well documented: they include various cancers, immune system suppression, liver and kidney damage, reproductive issues, developmental delays in children, and more.
“This is a victory for public health and the Ohio River,” said Autumn Crowe, deputy director of West Virginia Rivers Coalition. “The court recognized what communities have known for years: Chemours has been polluting our water and ignoring its legal obligations.”
This court ruling brings a much-needed sense of relief amid an often overwhelming run of pessimistic headlines about climate and environmental health. It demonstrates that legal environmental protections work, especially when people band together to hold polluters accountable and defend our drinking water and ecosystems.
This decision sets an encouraging precedent for stricter enforcement of our environmental protections. “The Clean Water Act protects the public, and I will enforce it,” Judge Goodwin wrote.
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USALCO has acquired Fontus Blue, enhancing its capabilities in drinking and wastewater treatment by integrating Fontus Blue’s AI-driven Decision Blue® platform, which optimizes water treatment processes.
BALTIMORE, June 10, 2025 (Newswire.com)
– USALCO, a leader in clean water solutions, is pleased to announce its acquisition of Fontus Blue, an innovative digital solutions provider for water utilities. This strategic acquisition marks a significant milestone for USALCO as it expands its capabilities to deliver cutting-edge, comprehensive solutions for drinking and wastewater treatment facilities.
Fontus Blue, founded in 2011 by Chris Miller, PhD, PE, has built a strong reputation for partnering with water utilities to optimize water treatment processes. Their proprietary algorithms and state-of-the-art Software as a Service (SaaS) platform Decision Blue® empower operators to simplify complex treatment decisions, optimize processes, and manage costs effectively. Decision Blue leverages advanced AI and computational models to provide real-time insights, enabling water treatment plants to forecast and enhance water quality with remarkable precision.
“This acquisition represents a transformative step forward in USALCO’s mission to deliver innovative and efficient water treatment solutions,” said Ken Gayer, CEO of USALCO. “Fontus Blue’s expertise in digital water solutions perfectly complements our product portfolio, allowing us to offer unmatched value to our customers. Together, we are uniquely positioned to tackle the evolving challenges of the water industry and ensure safe, high-quality drinking water for communities nationwide.”
Chris Miller, CEO of Fontus Blue, shared his enthusiasm for the partnership. “Joining forces with USALCO is a tremendous opportunity to amplify the impact of our technology and bring Decision Blue to more customers. We are proud to integrate our expertise in digital innovation with USALCO’s long-standing leadership in water treatment chemistry. The Fontus Blue technology is also a wonderful complement to USALCO’s digital services offerings, which are now operating and being installed in multiple water treatment facilities.”
Integrating Fontus Blue’s digital capabilities into USALCO’s portfolio underscores its commitment to enhancing its service offerings for water treatment facilities. USALCO will now provide a seamless combination of leading chemical solutions and digital decision-support services, empowering water utilities with the tools to achieve unparalleled efficiency and performance.
“This partnership is a game-changer for the industry,” said Terry Waldo, Chief Commercial Officer of USALCO. “By combining USALCO’s chemical expertise with Fontus Blue’s groundbreaking Decision Blue platform, we are setting a new standard for water treatment solutions. Together, we are poised to redefine how water treatment plants operate, delivering safer, more sustainable, and cost-effective processes for our customers.”
About USALCO
USALCO is a premier provider of water treatment solutions for municipal and commercial customers across the United States. It offers bespoke formulated chemistries, innovative digital technologies, and an industry-leading product portfolio to address diverse water treatment challenges. Headquartered in Baltimore, MD, USALCO has 33 manufacturing and distribution facilities nationwide.
Fontus Blue partners with water utilities to implement innovative digital water solutions, leveraging the deep technical expertise of their team. Fontus Blue has earned a strong reputation for collaborating with water utilities to optimize their treatment processes by deploying Decision Blue® and Virtual Jar® for many use cases, including turbidity removal and filter operations, TOC removal, disinfection management, and DBP management. Their services simplify treatment decisions, optimize processes, and manage costs.
TEWKSBURY — The Select Board met for a working session Oct. 22 to talk about long-term plans to address the town’s aging water pipes, and soon after the issue was highlighted further when the town faced four water main breaks in less than a week.
Water main breaks were reported on James Street Oct. 30, Veranda Avenue on Nov. 2, Astle Street on Nov. 3 and Pleasant Street on Nov. 4. Town Manager Richard Montuori said in a phone call Monday afternoon the first three breaks had already been fixed, with the Pleasant Street break expected to be fixed in short order as well.
Montuori said there is nothing extraordinary about four water main breaks in a relatively short period of time, with age being the likely culprit rather than any other external factors.
“These are the normal water main breaks we see throughout the year,” said Montuori.
Tewksbury’s water pipes are aging, an issue the Select Board had a working session to discuss recently at the lead of board member James Mackey.
Mackey said in a Monday phone call about half of Tewksbury’s roughly 160 miles of pipes are past their estimated end of life, and Tewksbury has been averaging about 30 breaks per year in recent years.
“I have always been fiscally conservative, and I think there are very few things we should be throwing money at to solve our problems, but this is a unique situation,” said Mackey.
Mackey has taken the lead on the issue for the board for the last three years, working with Montuori and the Department of Public Works, which he joked has given him “a master’s in water.” Some older New England water infrastructure is made up of asbestos cement, which Mackey said is a formerly common water conduit that sags over time. When such pipes are depressurized and then pressurized again, Mackey said this causes micro-cracks to form, compromising the pipe’s integrity.
The town has a five-year capital plan, as does the Department of Public Works, but Mackey proposed a 10-year plan to address the aging pipes with a higher rate of replacement, which he called “the most realistic timeline we can achieve it in.”
“Shorter than that, and we run into issues with shutting down too many roads at once. Any longer and more of it would age and have to be added to the plan,” said Mackey.
During the Oct. 22 meeting, Mackey roughly estimated that plan would be about $200 million over the course of that 10 years.
Mackey also sought to clear up what he said was misinformation surrounding the water main breaks.
“There has been misinformation going around about water main breaks having to do with overdevelopment in town. That is unrelated,” said Mackey. “This is because of the aging water infrastructure.”
None of Mackey’s colleagues on the board disagreed with the idea that Tewksbury needs to address its water infrastructure, and all of them were supportive of at least coming up with a longer-term plan during the recent working session. Some of them though had concerns over the potential costs of replacing pipes faster than the town’s current rate of one to three miles per year.
“To put it in 10 years, the only way we are going to do that is if we raised taxes,” said board member Mark Kratman during the Oct. 22 working session. “I don’t know if there is an appetite to be able to do that at this time.”
Board member Eric Ryder called the potential $20 million annual cost “a big ask.”
“I would love a plan, a plan would be great, but a 30% water increase, or even a 20% water increase and a 7% tax increase, or an override, I just can’t support that right now,” said Ryder, also expressing concerns over the amount of extra staff a faster plan would require.
Ryder said it would not be economically in the cards for the town right now, but he praised Mackey’s plan and said it would be worth looking at in future years under different economic circumstances.
Select Board Chair Patrick Holland suggested that the town should continue to seek grant funding or low-interest loans from the state and federal government to avoid the burden on the ratepayers or taxpayers. Getting that funding, Mackey said to Holland in response, will be easier with an actual marketable plan in place like what he put together.
“I totally agree with having something on the shelf ready to go,” said Holland.
One month after Hurricane Helene devastated North Carolina, residents of Asheville are still struggling to find clean drinking water. New York Times reporter Christina Morales joins CBS News to explain how it’s affecting families and businesses and what officials are doing to try to fix the issue.
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The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has pledged to work alongside Watts residents to address a host of environmental issues in the South Los Angeles community.
During a visit to the Jordan Downs public housing complex in Watts on Saturday morning, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the agency is working with state and federal partners to address elevated lead levels in the community’s drinking water and pollution from scrap metal recycler S & W Atlas Iron & Metal Co.
“For far too long, communities like Watts across the country have had to bear the brunt of environmental injustices – injustices like the unsafe operations from Atlas Metals, burdens like lead in drinking water right here at Jordan Downs,” Regan said.
More than a month after a team of Southern California researchers released the results of a study findinglead-tainted water in public housing developments in Watts, the Department of Water and Power has provided the city housing authority with more than 2,000 water sampling kits, according to Anselmo Collins, DWP’s senior assistant general manager in charge of the water system.
Results are trickling in, but early data from testing of kitchen faucets in public housing development Nickerson Gardens finds 43 samples below five parts per billion and 27 samples with undetectable levels, according to data provided by the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles.
Testing of exterior hose bibs found more elevated lead levels, but after reviewing some results the housing authority said there does not appear to be a correlation between the hose bibs and in-unit sinks.
No amount of lead in drinking water is safe, and children are especially vulnerable.
“No family should have to worry that the water coming out of their tap may be unsafe to drink,” Regan said. Once there are more complete results, he said, “we will better understand the extent of this issue and how we go about fixing it.”
Atlas is located next to Jordan High School, where students and staff have long complained that school grounds have been coated in metallic dust and pelted with metal shrapnel. TheEPA in March ordered the scrap yard to take action to prevent chemicals from washing into storm drains and drifting onto campus.
The company and its owners, Matthew Weisenberg and Gary Weisenberg, werecharged last month in Los Angeles County Superior Court with 23 felonies related to disposal of hazardous waste and two misdemeanors related to failure to minimize the risk of explosion or fire. The defendants pleaded not guilty.
“We already know that Atlas Metals cannot be trusted to do the right thing. We’ve seen how they’ve handled their responsibilities, and it’s clear that they’re willing to put the Watts community at risk,” Regan said. “We’re going to use every tool in our toolbox to hold Atlas Metals accountable.”
If Atlas moves off its current proprety in the future, he said, the site could be eligible for the EPA’s Brownfield Program, which provides grants and technical assistance to communities to assess, clean up, and sustainably reuse contaminated properties.
Andrew Anderson, 15, was among a dozen community members who joined Regan, Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Tim McOsker of the 15th District for a closed-door meeting at the Jordan Downs community center.
Anderson, a freshman at Jordan High, said he told Regan that many of his classmates have “trust issues” when it comes to the safety of their drinking water. He mostly drinks filtered water at home.
Anderson said he’s glad to have the officials’ backing as his community works to address these issues.
“We were able to feel like we were being heard,” he said.
MINNEAPOLIS — A new survey found that more bacteria is lingering on your reusable water bottles than can usually be found on a toilet seat.
The survey, by WaterFilterGuru.com, had scientists swab common household surfaces for comparison. The study found reusable water bottles had:
Five times more bacteria on them than a computer mouse
14 times more bacteria than a dog bowl
40,000 times more bacteria than found on a toilet seat
That same survey found 62% of people clean their water bottles at least once a day, 25% clean them a few times a week and 13% clean them just a few times a month.
Amy Johnston, a University of Minnesota Extension educator who specializes in food safety, says you should wash your bottle daily, whether by dishwasher or by hand with warm water and soap.
“That’s just going to prevent any buildup of bacteria,” Johnston said.
WCCO
Which part of the bottle is most conducive to bacteria growth?
“All those little nooks and crannies are where bacteria are going to want to hide,” Johnston said.
Straws, nozzles and sipping points need the most attention when cleaning, so much that Johnston advises people to do so by hand to ensure nothing’s missed in a dishwasher.
People should also let water bottles air dry completely after cleaning. That will help prevent mold growth.
In addition to cleaning, Johnston said sanitizing should be considered. There are several ways to do that. One method is to submerge the bottle and components in extremely hot water, at least 160 degrees, for about 30 seconds. You can add vinegar or baking soda to the water as well.
Johnston says sanitizing is more important if you use other drinks besides water in the bottle. She says bacteria can multiply in number quickly, doubling their amount almost every 20 minutes.
Touching the lid with dirty hands and rising temperatures can accelerate bacteria’s growth. So too can the type of liquid left behind.
“A sugary drink, or any kind of flavoring component, those sugar and flavor components can be food for bacteria if there are bacteria present,” she said.
Jeff Wagner joined the WCCO-TV team in November 2016 as a general assignment reporter, and now anchors WCCO’s Saturday evening newscasts. Although he’s new to Minnesota, he’s called the Midwest home his entire life.
While the water is still unsafe to drink or ingest, authorities in Orange, Virginia, say it is okay for bathing, washing and flushing. Residents say their water has smelled like paint thinner, gasoline and diesel since last Wednesday.
While the water is still unsafe to drink or ingest, authorities in Orange, Virginia, say it is okay for bathing, washing and flushing.
Last Wednesday, Rapidan Service Authority’s (RSA) Wilderness Water Treatment Plant started hearing about a strange odor from their customers, saying their water smelled like paint thinner, gasoline and diesel.
“The water treatment staff responded to those concerns and validated them, and also smelled them at the water treatment plant,” said Dwayne Roadcap, director for the Office of Drinking Water at the Virginia Department of Health.
Roadcap told WTOP that after the reports started coming in, state agencies, local authorities started looking for what might be causing the odor. Some water sampling also started.
Orange County confirmed that testing showed presence of hydrocarbons in RSA’s water system and from source water in the Rapidan River.
That led the Virginia Department of Health and the RSA to issue a “do not use” water advisory for the Lake of the Woods subdivision, Wilderness Shores, Somerset, Edgewood, Germanna Heights, Twin Lakes, Germanna Community College Locust Grove campus, and two shopping centers with several restaurants on Route 3.
On Saturday night, the advisory was changed to a “do not drink” water advisory, meaning residents are able to use the water supply for “bathing, toilet flushing, laundry, and other uses not associated with consumption or ingestion.”
“That was based on a few things that have been happening over the last few days,” Roadcap said. “Lab sampling results have been coming in. We know the odor is no longer present at the water treatment plant intake, and the objectionable odor has been reducing over time.”
The 32-year veteran of Virginia’s health department told WTOP that the best case scenario is whatever caused the odor has bypassed the intake at the Rapidan River where the water treatment plant draws its water.
According to Roadcap, as the next order of business, “local leaders have been actively trying to move fresh water from the river to the system that has been treated.”
The cause of the odor is still not known.
“There was a significant effort to investigate up and down the river. No source was identified,” Roadcap said.
Roadcap, who has been the director of the Office of Drinking Water for six years, said hydrocarbon problems do happen.
“There are effective ways to treat that and remove it. In this particular case the water treatment plant did not have the types of technology in place to do the chemical feeds that would help remove that type of odor,” he said.
There have been conversations, according to Roadcap, with his office and the RSA about adding that treatment process to the system.
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HOUSTON – A Lake Livingston Dam is now being watched for a “potential failure.”
The Trinity River Authority, which oversees Lake Livingston, the dam and the Trinity River, shared the declaration on Friday.
Crews discovered that the spillway has been “adversely impacted by the recent heavy rainfall and flooding,” according to a release shared with KPRC 2.
The Trinity River Authority has not provided additional information into the damage to the spillway or what prompted the declaration.
“Although there is no immediate danger of either failure or breach of the dam, the potential does exist however remote it might be,” the statement reads.
Although Lake Livingston are more than 80 miles away from downtown Houston, millions of people could be left dry if something were to happen to the lake’s supply of water.
The City of Houston relies on water that flows from Lake Livingston, over the dam and into the Trinity River for drinking water.
More than three million people use the water from the river every single day, according to the Houston Department of Public Works.
“The City of Houston draws raw water for the East and Southeast Water Purification plants from the Trinity River pump station, 35 miles downstream of the Lake Livingston dam,” a Public Works spokesperson told KPRC 2′s Gage Goulding on Saturday. “These two water purification plants serve more 3 million customers in the Greater Houston Metropolitan area with water.”
This isn’t a few drops of water being pulled from the Trinity River.
Every day roughly 806 million gallons of water is pumped from the Trinity River and used for drinking water, according to a 2020 presentation to Houston City Council.
That equates to roughly 70% of the city’s daily water supply.
Simply put—it’s a lot of water.
It’s so much that if for some reason the spillway were to fail or even be closed entirely for repair, we could be in big trouble.
The City of Houston Public Works provides water not only for city residents but people across Harris County as well as three surrounding counties.
“If the Lake Livingston Dam operations were compromised and storage was not available, the pump station would continue to draw water from the Trinity River,” a Public Works spokesperson said. “There may be potential disruption of water pressure and supply during times of peak water demand and low flow of the Trinty River. Additional water conservation measures may need to take place at that time.”
The City of Houston does get water from other sources to keep up with the demand of 172 billion gallons of water a year, according to statistics provided by Public Works. That’s enough to fill the Astrodome four times, every single day.
However, there’s one problem. They wouldn’t have enough water to make up for the potential loss if the Trinity River is not able to provide any water.
“The alternative water source from Lake Houston via the West Canal is not a sufficient supply of water to keep the entire service area supported the Trinty River free of potential disruptions,” a Public Works spokesperson said.
While the Lake Livingston Dam is under a “potential failure watch,” the Trinity River Authority says the risk for failure is “remote.”
KPRC 2 has asked for additional information regarding the damage to the spillway. The Trinity River Authority has not responded to our request.
Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.
Gage Goulding, Oscar Chavez, Marcus Gutierrez, Katie Brown
The U.S. government, in what an attorney says is a “monumental admission,” said last year that it caused injury to thousands of people on the Hawaiian island of Oahu when jet fuel from its storage facility leaked into the drinking water system. On Monday, thousands of military family members and locals are headed to trial seeking financial compensation.
Kristina Baehr, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the case, said her firm has 7,500 clients suing over the leak. Monday’s proceedings kick off a bellwether trial, meaning it’s a smaller consolidation of lawsuits taken from a larger group.
The case dates back to the week of Thanksgiving in 2021, when nearly 20,000 gallons of jet fuel leaked out of the World War II-era Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility and into the water system that serves about 93,000 people near Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Oahu. Military officials for days denied there was anything wrong with the water, as seen in recorded testimony and memos sent from that time.
By the time the military acknowledged there was petroleum in the water, people had already begun feeling the health impacts, many of which are still being experienced today — more than 2 1/2 years later.
In May 2023, the government made what Baehr says were “monumental admissions” about the crisis. Along with admitting liability for negligence at the storage facility, she said the government also “admitted that residents on the water line in November 2021 suffered injury.”
In a court-filed joint stipulation dated May 10, 2023, attorneys for the Department of Justice said “the United States does not dispute” that the 2021 spill “caused a nuisance for those Plaintiffs who owned or leased residences” that were eventually subject to a state Department of Health advisory.
The DOJ also says in the document that it “does not dispute that…the United States breached its duty of care to the Resident Plaintiffs to exercise ordinary care in the operation of Red Hill” and that, as a result of the “nuisance,” plaintiffs “suffered injuries compensable under the Federal Tort Claims Act.”
What the Justice Department hasn’t admitted, Baehr said, is the extent of the harm or that the government failed to warn residents.
Baehr told CBS News that many of her thousands of clients experienced the same symptoms at the beginning of the leak: dizziness, brain fog, disorientation, rashes, nausea, vomiting and burning in the esophagus.
Years later, many have spent countless hours in hospitals and are still suffering from the impacts.
Hawaii’s U.S. Rep. Ed Case, right, attends a rally calling for the shutdown of the Navy’s Red Hill underground fuel tanks as a man holds a photo of an infant who had chemical burns after bathing in fuel contaminated water, Friday, Feb. 11, 2022 in Honolulu.
Caleb Jones / AP
Victims of jet fuel exposure say their lives have “forever been drastically changed”
Jamie Simic, whose then-husband was a senior chief petty officer in the Navy when the leak occurred, is one of the three individuals specifically named as plaintiffs in the case. Before it was confirmed the water was contaminated, she said her children refused to brush their teeth.
“My daughter’s teeth were crumbling out of her head. They were saying we couldn’t taste toothpaste anymore… that they were tasting something foul,” she said, adding that the day military officials confirmed there was something wrong with the water, she was “throwing up while cooking dinner” from the fumes and wear.
“I went to the fridge to grab out some ice from my freezer and my ice was pure yellow and it had an oily film,” she said. “I put it up to my nose and I could smell fuel.”
The smell of fuel was on everything that came into contact with water, from dishes to laundry, Simic said. At the direction of the military, she and her family went to Tripler Army Medical Center, but she said that while there, they at first were given only “a piece of paper to write down your symptoms.”
“There was no form. There was no doctor. There was no blood pressure taken. There was nothing,” she said.
Meanwhile, she says she and her kids, now 11 and 10, have experienced issues with their teeth, incontinence and throat problems, while she has also dealt with reproductive issues. In an amended complaint filed in December 2022, attorneys said her family had to make more than 20 visits to doctors and undergo two biopsies and three surgeries. Some procedures her son needed that year “were thwarted because their son was too traumatized to cooperate,” the complaint says.
When CBS News spoke with Simic on Wednesday, she said the number of procedures and visits are now, “well over 300 to 400.” In many of these visits, she said doctors stated the problems she and her family are experiencing are related to the jet fuel exposure.
“We have been diagnosed with chronic hydrocarbon toxicity exposure more than once,” she said. “My daughter’s issues were just recently linked to it with her bowels. ‘To environmental exposure in Hawaii’ is what her records say.”
And the toll isn’t just physical, it’s an immense financial burden. Simic’s grandmother has given the family almost $40,000 to help with related expenses, she said.
“Just tomorrow alone, probably going to be spending $250 to $300 on travel with one specialty appointment, the copay, and then both of my children’s primary care manager appointments.”
Task Force Ohana Soldiers fill containers with potable water for Aliamanu Military Reservation residents (AMR) at a water supply point at AMR on Dec. 15th, 2021 at AMR, Hawaii.
Sgt. 1st Class Richard Lower/DVIDS
Mai Hall, who is Native Hawaiian and a military spouse, lived in military-provided housing with her husband and two kids at the time of the jet fuel leak. Speaking to CBS News in March 2023, she said her family started experiencing symptoms quickly.
“The next day it became apparent with the headaches, the nausea, bloody stools. … The cats were vomiting. I was like, ‘Oh my God, we’re gonna die,’” she told CBS News. “…We knew something was wrong. It was kind of like post-apocalyptic.”
When families first started notifying military officials their water had developed a strange taste and smell, their “concerns were not being heard,” Hall said.
“It must have been a week, six to seven days, before they said, ‘Oh yeah, by the way, there may have been fuel that leaked into the water,’” she told CBS News. “…And it was just an email. It wasn’t even a phone call. It wasn’t a knock on the door.”
Records show that Navy drinking water supervisor Joe Nehl said on Nov. 28, 2021, he received confirmation there was fuel in the water system and said he “called for help” and agreed it was obvious people needed to know of the situation.
However, it wasn’t until a town hall on December 5 that officials first stated publicly there was fuel from the leak in the water. Prior, they had issued statements saying there was “no indication water is not safe.”
A message from December 5, 2021, posted on JBPHH’s official Facebook page, in which Joint Base Commander Erik Spitzer says water testing results showed the water was not safe to drink after jet fuel leaked from the Red Hill Bulk Storage Facility.
Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam/Facebook
A November 30 communication plan from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam CBS News obtained shows officials were told to say, “There do not appear to be any indications that the water is unsafe” and, “We have not heard of any injuries.”
“I just have to trust the system,” Hall told CBS News. “And do I trust the system? No, I don’t.”
Baehr and Simic say this ordeal, as detrimental as it has been to those impacted, is also a story of resilience and hope.
“All we can get from the case is financial compensation. But financial compensation is what brings accountability,” Baehr told CBS News. “…These families took on the United States of America and won. And now it’s a question of damages.”
“Our lives have already forever been drastically changed,” Simic said. “…We’re already victorious in the Navy admitting the harm. We just need to be victorious in them admitting the long-term harm so families such as mine can continue to heal and get better and have the quality of life that was taken from us.”
Millions of people in Colombia’s capital were forced to start rationing water Thursday as Bogota’s main reservoirs hit critically low water levels. Aerial footage posted by the city’s mayor showed low levels in two reservoirs that supply 70% of the capital’s water.
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What are forever chemicals? Lead and similar harmful chemicals can stick around in drinking water and cause dangerous health disorders like cancer.
What are forever chemicals? Lead and similar harmful chemicals can stick around in drinking water and cause dangerous health disorders like cancer.
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health held a presentation on the topic Thursday, telling participants what they can do to lower their risk of ingesting the chemicals.
“Even with adequate corrosion control and drinking water, when water sits in lead pipes, especially overnight, lead leeches into the water going undetected when the tap is turned on,” said Natalie Exum, an environmental scientist with the Bloomberg School of Public Health.
There are steps that you can take as a homeowner to protect you and your family, she said.
“A lot of utilities do not know where the lead lines lie,” she said.
If you think your home has lead pipes, Exum said to request a water report or reach out to plumbing professionals for an inspection. If it comes back saying your water contains lead, first run the water to flush the pipes.
“Flushing means running the cold water for about five minutes before drinking,” she said.
Then she said to clean the screens on your faucet, and, “only use cold water for cooking, drinking and especially for preparing baby formula.”
Why should you only use cold water? Exum said “hot tap water can dissolve lead into the pipes” and make higher lead levels more likely.
She said faucets and taps installed before 2014 can contain up to 8% of lead. New standards in place say that lead content needs to be below 0.25% for drinking water fixtures.
Carsten Prasse, an assistant professor of environmental health and engineering at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, said an estimated 98% of the U.S. population have detectable concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAs, also known as “forever chemicals,” in their blood.
The facility will bring USALCO’s expertise in producing the world’s finest coagulants into the state of Arkansas, supplying local customers and providing improved logistics into Oklahoma and Central Plains locations, while bringing new full-time jobs to the region.
BALTIMORE, February 27, 2024 (Newswire.com)
– USALCO, LLC (“USALCO” or the “Company”), a leading producer of high-quality water treatment solutions for municipal and commercial customers in the United States, announced today the start of a project to construct a new water treatment chemicals production facility in Fort Smith, Arkansas. The facility will bring USALCO’s expertise in producing the world’s finest coagulants into the state of Arkansas.
The new facility will supply local customers and provide improved logistics into Oklahoma and Central Plains locations while bringing new full-time jobs to the region. “Through the production of high-efficiency, specialty coagulants, this new plant will reduce the number of shipments from surrounding states, resulting in lower carbon emissions and lower total cost for end-users,” said Project Leader Scot Lang, adding,” The construction of this new facility is a testament to USALCO’s commitment to deliver value to customers through more advanced water treatment solutions.”
About USALCO
USALCO is a leading provider of water treatment solutions for municipal and commercial customers in the United States, offering bespoke formulated chemistries and leading product efficacy to address a diverse range of water treatment requirements. Headquartered in Baltimore, MD, USALCO operates 32 manufacturing and distribution facilities throughout the United States. For more information, visit https://www.usalco.com/.
COLUMBIA, S.C., February 15, 2024 (Newswire.com)
– The Federal Court in South Carolina overseeing the massive PFAS settlement of public water systems across the country issued its first filing deadline. On February 8, 2024, Judge Gergel formally approved the Dupont/Chemours/Corteva $1.185 Billion settlement. In doing so, the court set a claim deadline for all Phase One Claimants of 90 days from the date of the court order. This assumes no appeals are filed. The court has not set deadlines for the $12.5 billion 3M settlement but is expected to do so soon.
Mike Stag of Stag Liuzza, which represents numerous water systems around the country, underscores the short time window now set for Phase One water providers to file their claim seeking funds from the Dupont/Chemours settlement: “Public water systems should understand remediation money will be available this year. If they don’t file by the deadline, they could forfeit the right to receive funds or delay funding by several years. Failure to file any claim will likely forfeit the right to receive funding.” Public water systems submitting qualifying claims could receive payments as early as this summer.
Stag Liuzza continues preparing and filing claims for their clients. “We want our public water clients to receive money as soon as funding becomes available,” Mr. Stag stated. The settlement requires submission of water system data that will be used by the settlement administrator to calculate payments to water systems. Stag adds, “The data collection process for claims is multi-faceted, requiring several steps to recover full funding. Sometimes we also recommend additional PFAS testing to maximize recovery.”
More information about the national PFAS Public water system settlement, or filing suit to recover money for PFAS contamination, can be obtained by contacting Mike Stag, Stag Liuzza at mstag@stagliuzza.com or by visiting www.cleangroundwater.com.
NEW ORLEANS, January 10, 2024 (Newswire.com)
– Last month, multiple cities in 5 states across the country including the states of Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, New Jersey, and Maryland filed suits in the PFAS national litigation. The suits allege significant damages including to the water systems, airports, and other critical areas of these cities and towns from PFAS chemicals, also known as ‘forever chemicals.’ Mike Stag of the national environmental firm Stag Liuzza represents the cities and towns and has stated that “These PFAS and PFOS chemicals are one of the greatest threats to our environment. Our clients need significant money to remediate their water systems and other public areas from these chemicals. We will continue to file suits on behalf of additional municipalities we represent across the country. This issue is too important for our clients not to have aggressive, experienced counsel helping them obtain all money possible.” Stag and his firm also represent municipalities in California, Alabama, Colorado, Massachusetts, West Virginia, and Ohio, and Stag sits on the Executive Committee of the national suit filed in Federal Court in South Carolina.
In June, national class action settlements totaling over $12 Billion were proposed. These settlements only deal with public water systems and do not include payments for airports, fire training centers or other likely PFAS contaminated public areas. It is expected that public water systems and municipalities which file a proper and valid claim could receive payments as early Summer 2024. “We want our clients to be in the front of the line to receive any payments possible from the national settlement the minute it is approved,” said Stag. The amount a municipality may receive is based on complex formulas and include what is known as ‘baseline’ testing. “During data collection, we are finding that this is a process that takes multiple steps to gather the proper and best evidence for the claims process.”
More information about the national PFAS Public water system settlement, or filing suit to recover money for PFAS contamination, can be obtained by contacting Mike Stag or Ashley Liuzza at Stag Liuzza or by visiting https://www.cleangroundwater.com
