Drinking Water

[phkrause]

California sets long-awaited drinking water limit on ‘Erin Brockovich’ contaminant California regulators voted Wednesday to establish a drinking water limit on hexavalent chromium, a toxic chemical compound made infamous by the movie “Erin Brockovich.” Read more.

Why this matters: The rule is the first in the nation to specifically target the heavy metal, known as chromium-6, and is expected to reduce the number of cancer and kidney disease cases from long-term ingestion, state officials say.   While scientists have known for decades that inhaling chromium-6 can cause lung cancer, it was uncertain for a long time whether ingestion could cause cancer, too. Studies by the National Toxicology Program changed that. Rodents that drank water with high levels of chromium–6 over two years developed intestinal and oral cancer, results showed.   The standard could inspire other states to adopt their own. However, some public water providers warned that with the new standard customers will pay more for water and the financial burden will disproportionately fall on disadvantaged communities.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Here’s why experts don’t think cloud seeding played a role in Dubai’s downpour   Earth Day: How a senator’s idea more than 50 years ago got people fighting for their planet   New York moves to update its fracking ban to include liquid carbon-dioxide as well as water

[phkrause]

"Forever chemicals" found in North Texas water supply

Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios

Dallas and Fort Worth are among several North Texas cities with more "forever chemicals" in their drinking water than the first-ever limits set by the U.S. government. Why it matters: Exposure to harmful synthetic chemicals has been linked to severe health issues, including an increased risk of cancer. In Texas, 49 public water utility systems have reported surpassing new limits to the chemicals, per a Texas Tribune analysis. The big picture: This month, the Environmental Protection Agency announced new rules limiting five synthetic compounds in a class of chemicals collectively known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The rules require public water systems to monitor their supply for the chemicals. The utilities have five years to enact solutions to reduce PFAS. Be smarter: PFAS have been prevalent since the 1940s, particularly in nonstick cookware and other fire-resistant and oil-repellent products. State of play: Chemical manufacturer 3M will begin paying billions to public water systems this year as part of a settlement over drinking water contamination. Dallas and Fort Worth were among the cities that objected last year to class-action settlements with 3M and DuPont, saying the agreements absolved the companies of wastewater and property cleanup. Zoom in: Arlington, Cockrell Hill, Duncanville, Farmers Branch, Flower Mound, Grapevine, Haltom City, Irving, Lake Worth, Seagoville, Terrell and Weatherford are also among the Texas water systems reporting forever chemicals above the new standard. What they're doing: Fort Worth is studying how to upgrade its water treatment facilities to remove forever chemicals. The city council will likely vote this summer on adding activated carbon filtration systems to some water treatment plants with higher levels of forever chemicals, per the Fort Worth Report. The bottom line: PFAS will never naturally degrade, meaning it's up to cities and water filtration systems to remove them from the drinking supply.

[phkrause]

Children of Flint water crisis make change as young environmental and health activists

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Their childhood memories are still vivid: warnings against drinking or cooking with tap water, enduring long lines for cases of water, washing from buckets filled with heated, bottled water. And for some, stomach aches, skin rashes and hair loss.

https://apnews.com/article/flint-water-crisis-youth-activists-10-year-anniversary-2e2c8605bf94631ba878d95a1b53bf5e?

[phkrause]

📚 Flint's 10-year crisis

Cover: Rowman & Littlefield

"We the Poisoned," a new book timed to the 10th anniversary of the Flint water crisis, reveals "the real story behind how the government poisoned a major American city — and how they are actively getting away with it." Investigative journalist Jordan Chariton includes stunning details of a last-minute attempt by the city's water plant manager to avert what turned into a lead poisoning disaster. Zoom in: The Michigan city switched the source of its water supply to save money on April 25, 2014 — unleashing one of America's largest public health crises. "In a state that could decide who wins the White House — and a majority Black city Democrats depend on for turnout — Flint is one to watch in November," the book announcement says. Javelin's Matt Latimer, who represents Chariton, said: "This book is a passion project for me. I grew up in Flint and watched my family live with the effects of this catastrophe." More on the book.

[phkrause]

More than a dozen military families in Hawaii spark trial over 2021 jet fuel leak that tainted water

HONOLULU (AP) — The U.S. government said Monday it took responsibility for jet fuel that leaked into a Navy water system serving 93,000 people in 2021, but attorneys dispute whether the families who are suing were exposed to enough tainted water to make them sick.

https://apnews.com/article/hawaii-water-jet-fuel-navy-leak-trial-1cc4a35afe5174e8417c94adb54b90aa?

[phkrause]

US towns plunge into debates about fluoride in water

NEW YORK (AP) — For about 50 years, adding cavity-preventing fluoride to drinking water was a popular public health measure in Yorktown, a leafy town north of New York City.

https://apnews.com/article/fluoride-water-kennedy-cdc-47a0067edb128dbd9b9211a36e674b2c?

[phkrause]

Water woes

For about 40 years, scientists have noticed a mysterious chemical in the treated drinking water of millions of people in the US, but no one has been able to pinpoint exactly what it is — until now. A new study found some answers.

[phkrause]

Florida Surgeon General Ladapo urges communities to stop fluoridating their water

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, a healthcare skeptic who has been mentioned for possible jobs in the Trump administration, issued an advisory Friday calling on Florida communities to stop fluoridating their water supplies.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/11/22/florida-surgeon-general-ladapo-urges-communities-to-stop-fluoridating-their-water/?

[phkrause]

Florida’s top public health official recommends nixing community water fluoridation

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo — echoing viewpoints propagated by Robert F. Kennedy, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to become the nation’s chief health official — recommended against community fluoridation of drinking water Friday.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2024/11/22/floridas-top-public-health-official-recommends-nixing-community-water-fluoridation/?

[phkrause]

The drinking water for New Jersey’s capital went largely untested for more than a year, utility says

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The drinking water in New Jersey’s capital city and some surrounding communities went largely untested for more than a year, the utility belatedly told roughly 200,000 affected customers, noting that it fired a worker who falsified the relevant reports.

https://apnews.com/article/trenton-water-falsified-reports-worker-fired-3932d739d520c3fa1f67ad253d48331c?

[phkrause]

Clean tap water isn’t flowing in Virginia’s capital as residents find creative ways to cope

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Theresa Fulgham wasn’t going to wait any longer. After days without water in Virginia’s capital that prompted some residents to melt snow to flush toilets, it was time to get cleaned up.

https://apnews.com/article/richmond-virginia-water-outage-winter-storm-bafe6389f59f16f194df4a46975f9461?

[phkrause]

Lake Mary joins growing list of Central Florida cities ending fluoridation of drinking water

Lake Mary commissioners unanimously agreed Thursday to stop adding fluoride to the city’s drinking water supply — becoming the latest in Central Florida to do so.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/02/21/lake-mary-joins-growing-list-of-central-florida-cities-ending-fluoridation-of-drinking-water/?

[phkrause]

Engineering company settles Flint water lawsuits for $53M but denies any blame for lead crisis

DETROIT (AP) — An engineering company said Friday it has agreed to pay $53 million to settle all remaining lawsuits that alleged some blame for lead-contaminated water in Flint, Michigan, a decade ago.

https://apnews.com/article/flint-water-settlement-lead-3cadd9eb6ffbd699159c992de9cdbc27?

[phkrause]

Florida’s fluoride critics decry its health risks. But not fluoridating water also is dangerous, an exclusive analysis shows.

As state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo crusades against water fluoridation across Florida, city after city is reversing decades of public health practice and agreeing to stop adding fluoride to its water. Ladapo’s message: The health risks of fluoride are not worth the protection against tooth decay it offers.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/03/03/floridas-fluoride-critics-decry-its-health-risks-but-not-fluoridating-water-also-is-dangerous-an-exclusive-analysis-shows/?

[phkrause]

NYC will eventually have to abandon part of its water supply if it keeps getting saltier

The suburban reservoirs that supply 10% of New York City’s vaunted drinking water are getting saltier due to decades of road salt being spread near the system — and they will eventually have to be abandoned if nothing is done to reverse the trend, city officials warn. Read More.

[phkrause]

Utah becomes the first state to ban fluoride in public drinking water

Utah has become the first state to ban fluoride in public drinking water, over opposition from dentists and national health organizations who warn the move will lead to medical problems and disproportionately affect low-income communities. Read More.

[phkrause]

Miami-Dade County mayor vetoes fluoride ban

More than a dozen local governments in Florida have banned fluoride in their public water drinking systems since state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo’s recommendation in November that they do so.

https://floridaphoenix.com/briefs/miami-dade-county-mayor-vetoes-fluoride-ban/?

ps:Good for them!!

[phkrause]

With strong Senate support, Florida moves closer to statewide fluoride ban

Florida is on its way to becoming the second state in the country to ban adding fluoride to public drinking water, parting with a practice once regarded among the greatest public health achievements of the last century.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/04/16/florida-moves-closer-to-statewide-fluoride-ban/?

ps:How stupid can they be??

[phkrause]

Florida moves closer to banning fluoride from drinking water

For decades, most Florida residents could turn on their taps and get a tiny amount of extra fluoride, a dose health experts say provides huge dental health benefits.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/04/29/florida-moves-closer-to-banning-fluoride-from-drinking-water/?

ps:The stupidity just gets better! I thank God this will end soon!!

[phkrause]

Fluoride under fire

Lawmakers in the Sunshine State approved a bill to prohibit certain additives in drinking water, effectively banning fluoride. If Gov. Ron DeSantis signs it, Florida will become the second state to outlaw the mineral, which helps prevent tooth decay. ps:See above!!!!!

[phkrause]

Texas targets toothpaste

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is launching an investigation into two major toothpaste makers over fluoride. Paxton said the companies “flavor their products and deceptively market them” to encourage kids to ingest fluoride. The American Dental Association says the mineral helps prevent tooth decay, but the Trump administration has begun to scrutinize the practice of adding fluoride to drinking water, and now toothpaste is being pulled into the fray. ps:How much more stupider can these people get?????

[phkrause]

How Utah dentists are preparing patients for the first statewide fluoride ban

With Utah's first-in-the-nation ban on fluoride in public drinking water set to take effect Wednesday, dentists who treat children and low-income patients say they're bracing for an increase in tooth decay among the state's most vulnerable people. Read More.

[phkrause]

DeSantis announces he will sign fluoridation ban

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday he will sign into law legislation that bans local governments from adding fluoride to public drinking water, ending a decades-old practice that health professionals have long credited with slashing rates of tooth decay, especially in poor communities.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/05/06/desantis-announces-he-will-sign-fluoridation-ban/?

ps:Of course he will!!!!!

[phkrause]

💧Mapped: Access to fluoridated water

Data: CDC. Map: Alex Fitzpatrick/Axios Nearly 63% of the U.S. population was served by fluoridated community water systems as of 2022, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick writes from CDC estimates. Why it matters: Fluoridation is once again becoming a political flashpoint, with Utah and Florida recently moving to ban the practice — a step encouraged by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Interactive map: State-by-state data.

[phkrause]

Florida just created a law to ban fluoride in water. What should you do now?

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed a bill that will stop local governments from adding fluoride to water, prompting Florida dentists to brace for what’s next.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/05/17/florida-just-passed-a-bill-to-ban-fluoride-what-should-you-do-now/?

ps:The stupidity rolls on!!