US water not always safe to drink

Terra Daily via UPI from the New York Times: Millions of people in the United States have been exposed to unsafe drinking water over the past five years, records suggest. The New York Times says a review of regulatory records shows more than 20 percent of U.S. water treatment systems have violated the Safe Drinking Water Act since 2004 but less than six percent of those water systems have been fined or punished by state and federal officials.

Violations, some of which may have been one-time occurrences and others that persisted for years, include illegal concentrations of chemicals such as arsenic, radioactive substances like uranium or bacteria from sewage, the newspaper said Tuesday.

The Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to announce a new policy for monitoring the nation's 54,700 water systems. "This administration has made it clear that clean water is a top priority," EPA spokeswoman Adora Andy told the newspaper. The Times said the majority of drinking water violations occurred at water systems serving fewer than 20,000 residents, where the resources and managerial expertise may be lacking.

David Uhlmann, former head of the Justice Department's environmental crimes division, said some water systems won't comply with water regulations unless they are forced. "And sometimes a court order is the only way to get local governments to spend what is needed," he told the newspaper….

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