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submitted 8 months ago by Stamau123@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

The Civil Engineering Society gave the country's drinking water infrastructure a C- rating in 2021

WASHINGTON -- The Biden administration on Tuesday announced $5.8 billion in funding that will go out to every state and territory to help fix an ailing water infrastructure that continues to put millions of Americans' health at risk.

Michael Regan, administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency, and Vice President Kamala Harris will be in Pittsburgh on Tuesday to promote the administration's efforts to ensure a safer drinking water system and more reliable wastewater infrastructure Projects underway in Pittsburgh - such as an effort to get rid of lead pipes - are among several across the country that are being funded through bipartisan 2021 legislation that designated $50 pillion toward improving water infrastructure.

"President Biden and I believe that every person in our country should have a right to clean water no matter where they live or how much money they make," Harris said in a news release from the EPA. "With this investment, we are continuing our urgent work to remove every lead pipe in the country and ensure that every American has access to safe and reliable drinking water."

The federal government won't pick the projects funded by the investment announced Tuesday. Rather, it will funnel the money to states, territories and tribes through the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund programs.

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[-] RedditWanderer@lemmy.world 61 points 8 months ago

One of the first things the Trump Administration did in their second year was to cut EPA funding by 31%, including clean water programs. Then the proposed nothing in exchange but more cuts for the rich. Hopefully they don't reduce the EPAs budget further to make up for it.

[-] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 25 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

One of trump’s best donors was the Koch brothers, who donated on the expectation of deregulation.

Because it was more profitable to get Trump and other republicans elected than it was to follow benzene monitoring regulations in their Corpus Christi plant.

The EPA fucked them over , and that’s far from the only action against them.

[-] Hyperreality@kbin.social 12 points 8 months ago

Trump 2024. We need more asbestos water infrastructure.

[-] thefartographer@lemm.ee 7 points 8 months ago

Nothing washes down baked lead pipe like some asbestos water.

[-] Ghyste@sh.itjust.works 1 points 8 months ago

They did that and they packed a SCOTUS that is neutering the EPA as well.

[-] grue@lemmy.world 18 points 8 months ago

Last I checked, the City of Atlanta had spent $4B over the last decade or so just to fix sewage overflows from the wastewater pipes within the city limits. That's 2/3 of the total nationwide funding spent just in one city (which is only 1/10 of its metro area, BTW), for one half of its system.

Just wanted to put in perspective how vastly underfunded our infrastructure is, even with this new money.

[-] Waterdoc@lemmy.ca 16 points 8 months ago

Water infrastructure is very expensive and the industry is dealing with more problems than ever before (impacts of climate change, PFAS, aging infrastructure). Lots of money and effort is needed to fix these problems, but it is worth remembering that tap water is safe for the overwhelming majority of consumers in developed countries. It is worth knowing more about your drinking water, but don't assume that your water is dangerous because of headlines like this.

Feel free to ask any specific questions you might have about your water!

[-] jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 7 points 8 months ago

Sometimes I get like a blue residue on my drinking glasses. I think it might be copper? Not sure what to do about it. NYC.

[-] variants@possumpat.io 6 points 8 months ago

Maybe do one of those free water tests where you send them a sample

[-] blandfordforever@lemm.ee 5 points 8 months ago

Weak acids like vinnegar tend to dissolve mineral deposits.

[-] Waterdoc@lemmy.ca 3 points 8 months ago

That's certainly unusual. Does this occur after having water sit, or is it after cleaning them? You should call your water provider to report it and ask for their advice. If it isn't something your neighbours are dealing with then it's probably (a) something to do with your dish soap, or (b) the plumbing in your home. Regardless, that's not normal and you should call your water provider.

[-] Stamau123@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago

Do you know of a good home remedy for water filtration? I have a brita but I figured there was something a little less wasteful than buying new filters every few months.

[-] Waterdoc@lemmy.ca 2 points 8 months ago

There are two approaches here. First, if you have a well, you can get a pressure filter system installed. Different systems achieve different things, such as reducing the hardness or removing iron and manganese or sulfur.

Second, if you have municipal water, you could get a tap filter. This type of filter goes directly on your tap and is used to remove particles. Usually these are overkill, but they use them in areas with lead pipes to reduce lead exposure (they will remove the pipes eventually, but it will probably take a decade or more in some cities). Your classic pour over Britta doesn't do anything for particles, instead it adsorbs certain dissolved contaminates and removes residual chlorine. This may make your water taste better, but it won't protect you from lead if you have lead pipes.

Unfortunately there really isn't a replacement for these types of adsorptive filters because they work using activated carbon. Activated carbon comes from natural products (primarily coal, but also coconut shell and other materials), but it has to undergo a heating process to "activate" it, which goes well beyond what you can do at home. That said, other than the improved taste there is likely no benefit to using it, and you can dechlorinate your water by simply leaving a jug in the fridge for a few hours.

If you are on a well I can explain some of the other options!

[-] LemmyExpert@lemmy.zip 2 points 8 months ago

Let's hear about the well options, please 🙂

[-] Waterdoc@lemmy.ca 2 points 8 months ago

Groundwater does not typically contain many particles because (a) water moving through the ground gets naturally filtered and (b) groundwater is typically anoxic, which causes certain things to dissolve. Accordingly, most filtration systems for well waters are focused on removing those dissolved contaminants.

The most common well water treatment is water softening. These systems remove hardness from your water (cations, typically calcium and magnesium). Water softeners are usually ion exchange based, so basically you are swapping out the calcium or magnesium for sodium or potassium.

Some wells have dissolved metals (manganese or iron are common) that can stain fixtures and laundry (manganese can also cause health problems for children). Arsenic is also common in some regions, which causes cancer, and hydrogen sulfide, which causes a rotten egg smell. All of these can be removed using a special filter system, which uses catalytic oxidation to oxidize and remove these contaminants. These systems typically use manganese oxide (often called greensand) and chlorine.

To remove salts or microbial contaminants it is common to use a reverse osmosis (RO) membrane filtration system. These systems reject salt ions and microorganisms by a combination of small pore sizes and charged surfaces - the salt ions can't pass through a positively charged surface because of electromagnetic repulsion.

If you have well water you should get it tested regularly and make sure your treatment system is appropriate for your water!

[-] Cosmocrat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 8 months ago

Will they be starting in Flint?

[-] Coreidan@lemmy.world 6 points 8 months ago

A little behind on your info there. You might want to do a little bit of research

[-] assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world 1 points 8 months ago

Not sure why the downvotes. Their water has been clean for a while.

[-] Shirasho@lemmings.world 3 points 8 months ago

Cool, so after admin and middlemen there will be a total of 100k allocated.

this post was submitted on 20 Feb 2024
339 points (100.0% liked)

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