Source Water Contamination Resources

  1. How Can We Prevent Sewage Pollution In The UK From Worsening? 5/10/2023

    In sewers, human waste mingles with personal hygiene products, household chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and other contaminants, creating highly toxic wastewater that pours pollutants and 6.2 million tons of nitrogen into coastal water every year. How can we prevent sewage pollution? The answer starts with tackling the problem in the UK.

  2. When Almost Perfect Isn't Good Enough 5/4/2023

    Despite statistically astounding performance, water and wastewater utilities have almost no room for error due to the nature of public perception and the importance of their work.

  3. PFAS Payback: How Utilities Can Hold Polluters Accountable 5/4/2023

    As the federal government ramps up the regulatory process for enforceable limits on PFAS in drinking water, estimated to cost billions annually, an environmental attorney details how utilities can hold polluters — instead of ratepayers — financially responsible.

  4. Fracking Disclosures Show Widespread Use Of Hazardous Chemicals 4/3/2023

    Fracking, short for hydraulic fracturing, is a process in which workers inject fluids underground under high pressure. The fluids fracture coal beds and shale rock, allowing the gas and oil trapped within the rock to rise to the surface. Advances in fracking launched a huge expansion of U.S. oil and gas production starting in the early 2000s but also triggered intense debate over its health and environmental impacts.

  5. New PFAS Guidelines — A Water Quality Scientist Explains Technology And Investment Needed To Get Forever Chemicals Out Of U.S. Drinking Water 3/21/2023
    An environmental engineer who develops techniques to remove PFAS explains what the proposed guidelines would require, how water utilities could meet these requirements, and how much it might cost to get these so-called forever chemicals out of U.S. drinking water.
  6. The Water Industry Reacts To Proposed PFAS Regulations For Drinking Water 3/14/2023

    With the U.S. EPA’s recent announcement proposing maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for certain PFAS, stakeholders throughout the water industry — representing utilities, industry, the environment, legal interests, and public health — were quick to offer their opinions.

  7. How An Algal Metabolic Hack Threatens Our Waters 3/9/2023
    Algae's ability to adapt and thrive is bad news for U.S. waterways, highlighting the importance of preventative measures to stave off harmful algal blooms.
  8. Two Water Movies: The Harmful And The Hopeful 3/8/2023

    Adam Tank and I just had Travis Loop as a guest on our podcast Water We Talking About, and he gave us an update on his initiative to do in-depth reporting on the PFAS issue. And our next guest is Aoife Kelleher, associate producer and lead researcher for the water documentary Brave Blue World. So I thought it would be a good time to repost my review on two very different water movies, Dark Waters and Brave Blue World.

  9. To Clean Up England's Rivers We Need To Know How Much Sewage Is Dumped — But Water Firms Won't Tell Us 3/6/2023

    UK environment secretary Thérèse Coffey has demanded that water companies share plans for how they will reduce sewage discharges into rivers. They could start by coming clean on how much sewage is being dumped. If we don’t know how much sewage is actually being released — for at least the worst offending locations — we won’t be able to measure environmental and industry improvement with any confidence.

  10. Developing PFAS Regulations Provide Cause To Take Action Against Polluters Now 2/9/2023

    On October 18, 2021, the U.S. EPA released its PFAS Strategic Roadmap which sets timelines to take specific actions for regulating 29 man-made perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Many state regulatory agencies already request or require water systems to test for an expanded list of these chemicals. Most states that require testing are requiring it at and near airports and military sites where aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) containing various PFAS compounds was likely used, for potentially decades, to extinguish fires — and to conduct training exercises where large volumes of the foam were often discharged onto the soil.