Water for Auction in California

By Bettina Boxall, LA Times

Need more water? If you’ve got $30 million or so, you can bid for it at an auction this fall.

In what officials believe is a first for the state, a Southern California water agency is planning to auction off enough water to supply about 70,000 homes for a year.

Water sales are not uncommon in California, especially when supplies are tight, as they are in the current drought.

But putting water up for bid in an auction — which is bound to drive up the price — appears to be unprecedented in the state.

“Water in general has always been a very low-priced commodity, and I think the reality is, it’s going to start catching up with other utilities. It’s going to fluctuate with markets,” said Ken Manning, chief executive of Chino Basin Watermaster, a quasi-public entity that manages the basin. “Whether that’s right or wrong, I don’t know. I just know where it’s going.”

Manning anticipates that the water will fetch $800 to $1,000 an acre-foot, or roughly $30 million. Underground storage in the basin will cost another $30 million.

“We think we’re offering a reliable product. It’s in the ground. So it will demand a higher price,” he said.

Read full article

Source: LA Times

FRAC Act Under Consideration to Protect U.S. Drinking Water

A September, 2009 letter was signed by 160 national, regional, state and local organizations, including conservation, faith, sportsmen and community organizations, urging members of Congress to co-sponsor S. 1215/ H.R. 2766, the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals (FRAC) Act.

This important legislation would repeal an exemption in the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) for an oil and gas technique called hydraulic fracturing. It would also require public disclosure of the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing fluids.

Signatories to letter in support of the FRAC Act include (among others): American Rivers, Center for Food Safety, Earthjustice, Environmental Working Group, Food & Water Watch, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, Public Citizen’s Energy Program, and the Rural Community Assistance Partnership, Inc.

Oil and gas production is present in over 30 states, and a consistent national standard is needed for this practice. Hydraulic fracturing involves the injection of fluids into oil or gas wells at very high pressure in order to crack open the underground formation and allow oil or gas to flow out more easily. These fluids often contain toxic chemicals, some of which remain underground. The pressure places stress on the oil or gas well and can lead to unpredictable consequences.

Reports of drinking water contamination come from Colorado, Texas, Arkansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Alabama and Wyoming.

While states regulate oil and gas production, state rules vary widely and a federal floor is needed. As stated in a study by the Hastings College of the Law, “many of the state regulatory schemes date from earlier waves of resource extraction, and have not kept pace with changed technologies, nor with a deepening concern for public health and the environment.” For example, a recent report issued by the Ground Water Protection Council found that some states do not require a well’s surface casing to be set through the deepest ground water zone.

Protection of drinking water is a national concern that should not be left to a patchwork of state regulations.

In 2005, Congress exempted hydraulic fracturing from the SDWA to the benefit of Halliburton and other oil and gas companies. It is time to close the Halliburton Loophole and hold the oil and gas production industry to the same standards as any other industry.

Please support the efforts to keep our drinking water safe. For ideas on how to make a difference around the FRAC Act, visit Nuprana’s Advocacy section.

Click here to read the full letter in support of the FRAC Act.

Violent Protesters Disrupt World Water Conference

Several hundred stone-throwing protesters disrupted the opening of the World Water Forum, an international gathering in Istanbul designed to address the growing demand for fresh water, and to find ways to avert conflicts over the limited resource. Outside the meeting riot police clashed with stick-wielding protesters, eventually using tear gas and water cannons to break up the protest. The police also arrested 17 activists who tried to enter the meeting hall.

The need for new environmental policies was highlighted last week when the United Nations warned that nearly half of the world’s people will live in areas with acute water shortages by 2030. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said water scarcity is a “potent fuel for wars and conflict.” Water shortages have been named as a major underlying cause of the conflict in Darfur in western Sudan. Water is also a major issue between Israel and its Arab neighbors, and the states of Central Asia, one of the world’s driest places, where thirsty crops such as cotton and grain remain the main source of livelihood [Reuters].

But the protesters denounced the meeting as a front for multinational companies seeking profits and promoting privatisation…. They say that the council, aided by the World Bank, has driven projects that have raised water costs and worsened scarcities in the developing world [The Guardian].

Chile has provided the starkest example of how water privatization can leave poor citizens without access to the vital resource, as water resources are considered private property in Chile and can be traded with little government oversight. Private ownership is so concentrated in some areas that a single electricity company from Spain, Endesa, has bought up 80 percent of the water rights in a huge region in the south, causing an uproar. In the north, agricultural producers are competing with mining companies to siphon off rivers and tap scarce water supplies, leaving towns like [Quillagua] bone dry and withering. “Everything, it seems, is against us,” said Bartolomé Vicentelo, 79, who once grew crops and fished for shrimp in the Loa River that fed Quillagua [The New York Times].

Article Source:  Discover Magazine Blogs

Oil Companies Buying Up Billions of Gallons in Water Rights in the Parched American West

In preparation for future oil shale mining projects near the Rocky Mountains, six oil companies have gained rights to billions of gallons of water in the American West, potentially jeopardizing water supplies throughout the region, according to a new report by Western Resource Advocates [pdf], an environmental group. It is still preliminary to speculate on the implications of the findings, but many are concerned that if the companies put their rights to use, water will be shifted away from agriculture and community use.

Using public records, the report examines more than 200 water rights held by six energy companies, including Shell and ExxonMobil, which, it is estimated, are collectively entitled to divert at least 6.5 billion gallons of water from rivers in western Colorado, as well as almost 2 million acre-feet of water from the state’s reservoirs, which is enough to supply the Denver metro area for six years. Shale oil production is a water-intensive process: up to five barrels of water are consumed for every barrel of oil produced. This means that projects producing 1.55 million barrels of oil per day would require 378,000 acre-feet of water each year, compared to the Denver metro area’s consumption, which is less than 300,000 acre feet. Should oil shale production hit full stride in the next 15 to 20 years – something the White House under President George W. Bush tried to accelerate by opening up 2 million acres controlled by the Bureau of Land Management to leasing and approving royalty rates and leasing rules – there will be a major political battle over water rights [Colorado Independent].

Extracting oil from shale is still an experimental process, facing major technological, environmental and regulatory hurdles, and is considerably more expensive than conventional drilling [Wall Street Journal], and the report has reignited an ongoing public debate over what the impacts of oil shale mining will be on nearby communities and the environment. Last September, the mayors of 11 mountain communities in Colorado wrote a joint letter to publicly express concern about “significant impacts on our community infrastructure, environment, and quality of life” from the development of oil shale…. “There has also been little evaluation of the impact these technologies and processes will have on local communities or the regional air and water resources” [Environment News Service], they wrote.

Shell spokesman Tracy Boyd defended the industry’s strategy of preemptively buying up water rights, saying, “The rights that we have, for the most part, are conditional. The water has to be there legally and physically” [AP], adding that, “We’re picking up properties as they become available or look strategic” [Wall Street Journal]. He tried to minimize cause for concern by saying that Shell expects not to need all that water for another 15 years, by which time it may have developed oil extraction methods that require less water.

Colorado law allows river water to be used, at no cost, by any entity that can show the water will be put to a “beneficial” use. Extracting oil fits into that category, as does, for example, growing alfalfa, providing household drinking water and making snow at ski resorts. Oil companies can get water rights in two ways…. For a minimal filing fee, the companies have claimed scores of “junior” rights that allow them to draw water from a particular river after other users have satisfied their needs. The companies have also purchased dozens of “senior” rights from old-time farming families; those rights give them priority access to water, even in dry years [Wall Street Journal].

Source:  Discover Magazine Blogs

Contaminated Water in Black Falls Affects Navajo Residents

By Kathy Helms, Gallup Independent

WINDOW ROCK – For some elderly Black Falls, Ariz., residents, last week’s Navajo Environmental Protection Agency conference was their first opportunity to have a voice in Window Rock – a chance some didn’t want to miss.

The community located in the former Bennett Freeze area has struggled for years to find a source of safe drinking water, with residents often traveling 50 miles to Flagstaff on unpaved roads to haul water.

In February, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Indian Health Service extended a waterline and constructed a safe water-hauling point in the priority area to serve residents near four unregulated wells contaminated with uranium.

Indian Health Service distributed 14 new water-hauling tanks to members of the community and is developing plans to install cisterns for up to nine homes within the immediate vicinity of the contaminated wells. In the interim, EPA has been providing bottled water to two families living in a very remote area who previously relied on uranium-contaminated wells.

During the May 13 EPA conference presentation of “Assisting the Water Haulers: Using Grassroots Driven Development to Secure Environmental Justice,” Don Yellowman, president of The Forgotten People, talked about how this group of Bennett Freeze area residents came together to help themselves.

“In Diné way, these people have extended families here and cannot just pick up and move to some other location so they remain and when necessary subject themselves to drinking contaminated water,” Yellowman said.

“I can only imagine how Rolanda (Tohannie) must feel speaking publicly about how she knows she is drinking contaminated water but does so because she has no other choice, and how Elsie Tohannie and other Black Falls residents feel as mothers, grandmothers and relatives of these families.

“It is imperative the new Black Falls Church watering point open, be maintained, and in the interim, all chapter houses must serve everyone in need without discrimination to ensure access to safe drinking water,” he said.

Read full story

Source:  Gallup Independent

Lawsuit Filed to Block Law Encouraging Recycling of Water Bottles

By Nicholas Confessore, The New York Times

ALBANY – A coalition of bottled water companies filed suit on Tuesday to block an expanded bottle deposit law scheduled to take effect next month, arguing that the law, which imposes a deposit fee on bottled water sold in New York State, is unconstitutional.

The coalition includes Nestlé Waters North America; the International Bottled Water Association, an industry trade group; and Keeper Springs, a small bottler owned by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmental advocate.

The new law requires distributors to collect a 5-cent deposit per bottle of water, which can in turn be redeemed by consumers, provisions designed to encourage New Yorkers to recycle the billions of water bottles now thrown away each year. But companies that bottle water must affix a new universal product code label to bottles sold in New York.

In a complaint filed in United States District Court in Manhattan, the water companies argued that the labeling requirement violates the Constitution’s equal protection clause because the language of the bill excludes any drink to which sugar has been added, like sports drinks. The complaint also charges that the requirement violates the Constitution’s interstate commerce protections because the wording of the law also seems to ban companies from selling the New York-labeled bottles in other states.

The lawsuit comes as Gov. David A. Paterson, who pushed to include the expanded recycling law as part of the budget passed in April, is considering proposals that would scrap or delay some of aspects of the program, like moving back the June 1 deadline for companies to begin using the UPC label.

In a court filing supporting the lawsuit, Mr. Kennedy, who is also chief prosecuting attorney of Riverkeeper, an environmental group, said the new law would undermine municipal recycling programs by depriving them of revenue from recycled plastic water bottles. Riverkeeper has staunchly supported expanding the deposit law to include bottled water. Mr. Kennedy said that he was speaking for himself and not for Riverkeeper.

In an interview, Mr. Kennedy said that that “the sugar lobby, and its indentured servants in the Legislature,” wrote the law to penalize bottlers of plain water.

“There is no rational basis for penalizing water,” Mr. Kennedy said. “It means that if I add a little sugar to my water, I don’t have to pay my redemption fee.”

Read full article

Source:  The New York Times

City Officials Hid News of Water Contamination from Residents

Taken from an original article by Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune

When public water supplies are fouled by toxic pollutants, Illinois law requires that municipal officials, not residents, be notified. But village officials in Downers Grove and Crestwood already knew their municipal well was contaminated — state officials had told them so in 1986 — and continued to use it anyway.

In response to the Tribune’s investigation, Governor Quinn and others vowed last week to ensure that state and local officials follow through on the intent of the law. They also are moving to make it a felony to mislead the public about the source of its water.

“You would expect them to tell their constituents what’s in the water they’re drinking,” said Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago), who sponsored the right-to-know measure. “If we need to amend the law to make it clear people should be notified, that’s what we’ll do.”

After the law took effect, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency posted on its Web site examples of state officials issuing notifications or requiring polluters to do so. Under the heading “right-to-know legislation better informs Illinois citizens,” the site notes that early notification can help people “make important decisions that may impact their families’ health.”

One case the EPA highlighted involved radioactive tritium that had seeped into groundwater near the Braidwood nuclear power plant in Will County. The Tribune first reported in January 2006 that Exelon Nuclear had bought out a homeowner and offered to compensate others for any loss in home value because of the contamination.

On at least a half-dozen occasions after that, Exelon and state officials sent notices to people living near the plant updating them on plans to clean up the area. “We moved fairly quickly on that one,” said Kurt Neibergall, manager of the EPA’s Office of Community Relations. “In many of these cases, we maybe don’t have all of the answers, but we can get as much information as possible out there.”

Answers were difficult to find for Ann Muniz and her neighbors in unincorporated Downers Grove. After they were told in 2001 that their wells were contaminated with trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene, two industrial solvents linked to cancer, they were advised by state health officials to avoid drinking tap water and to limit bathing in it.

If they needed to take a shower, Muniz said, they were told to open the windows because the chemicals can easily become airborne when aerated.

The neighborhood later was hooked up to treated Lake Michigan water and the wells were capped. But as the saga dragged on, it became clear that state and local officials had known about the contamination in the late 1980s and didn’t inform people living nearby.

“They always seemed to be looking for loopholes or excuses for not telling us what’s going on,” Muniz said.

When the right-to-know legislation was signed into law in 2005, state officials vowed that what happened to Muniz and her neighbors wouldn’t happen again.

In Crestwood, village officials told state regulators in 1986 that they would use only treated Lake Michigan water from neighboring Alsip and the contaminated well would be turned on only in an emergency. But records show that Crestwood relied on well water for up to 20 percent of the village’s water supply for some months.

The well finally was shut off after the EPA tested the water again in 2007 and found it still was contaminated with chemicals related to perchloroethylene. But before the Tribune report, the only public hint of contaminated water in the area was an Aug. 13 news release from the Illinois Department of Public Health warning that private wells in the area might be polluted.

State officials now say they are taking steps to avoid a repeat of what happened in Crestwood.

“We think what these guys did is outrageous,” said Doug Scott, director of the state EPA. “It can’t be allowed to ever happen again.”

Read full article

Source:  The Chicago Tribune

The Water Project offers challenges for families through The Water Challenge

The Water Project, a faith-based non-profit organization whose mission includes connecting donors and implementers to make clean water a reality for needy communities, offers an innovative and fun way for families to get involved through a program called the Water Challenge.

This kid-friendly solution to helping the worldwide water problem includes simply changing drinking habits by switching to tap water, refillable containers or if bottled water is used, to recycle.

The site includes information on a variety of topics for parents and older students, too, including water scarcity and bottled water, and keeps donors up to date on local water projects.  Families and schools can report their challenge and have their progress posted and receive timely updates about current water projects in Africa and India.

What are the steps to a Water Challenge?

• Give it Up – Make water your only beverage…for 2 weeks.  Take the money you would have spent on soda, juice, sports drinks, bottled water etc., and put it aside to give clean water. Collect your savings in a cup wrapped with a “The Water Challenge” label.

• Wear your wristband – It’ll help you remember to choose water and to spread the word.
• Continue your sacrifice for 2 weeks – If you are heading toward the soda machine, head for the water fountain instead. If your family goes out to dinner and you usually order iced tea, ask for water. It’s free. You’ll be amazed at how the savings add up. Encourage your whole family to participate.
• Give it Away – After 2 weeks, calculate the amount of money saved by your sacrifice and give water through The Water Project, Inc. It will be used to drill and fix wells, build systems to catch rain-water and build small sand dams in Kenya, Zambia, Cameroon or India…you choose!

There is no cost to families to participate, although the activity can be used as a fundraiser, and the challenge is an overall great way to build dialog within families about water conservation and charity.

The bottom line is that charitable opportunities are available, even for the youngest participants.  In the tough economy, many organizations can still share their stories and provide knowledge-sharing for people interested in the issues.  The Water Project is one such group, hoping that folks will learn now, act as much as possible and donate when they can.

For more information about the Challenge, see: http://thewaterproject.org/thewaterchallenge.asp

Source: The Examiner

Polluted Drinking Water in Roane County TN, Disputed by Officials

KINGSTON, Tenn. (WVLT) — Six weeks after the coal ash spill in Roane County, an environmental group is releasing water quality test results that show dangerous levels of heavy metals.

But TVA and state officials have been saying for weeks, the water is safe.

Darrell Pelfrey has lived in Roane County his entire life, but no longer drinks what comes out of the tap. Darrell says “we just don’t drink the water no more, I mean if you go to drink the water, ain’t no telling what’s in it, its killing the fish too.”

An environmental group, United Mountain Defense agrees. Along with the Environmental Integrity Project, they say their scientists tested 22 locations over the course of a week.

Jeff Stant with the Environmental Integrity Project says “the results indicate the collapse of the ash embankment on December 22, has contaminated surface water near the collapse site and down river with levels of heavy metals that frequently exceed federal drinking water standards and water quality standards.” The group claims their results show the entire water-shed is affected directly by the spill.

Both government officials and the company behind the spill disagree.

Read full article and view TV report

Source: VolunteerTv.com

Infertility and Tainted Breastmilk: Side Effects of America’s Drinking Water

ALBUQUERQUE-  As a new mother, I’ve done everything I can to keep my son healthy and increase his chances of becoming a strong, successful individual.  I had a natural childbirth with no drugs.  He was exclusively breastfed.  At 9 months, he now only eats organic fruits, vegetables, grains and meat, and he continues to breastfeed.  I braved the mess of cloth diapers, and use only gel-free, fragrance-free, dye-free disposables as an alternative.  I’ve tried to educate myself about all the harmful contaminants he could be exposed to, and do my best to protect him from them.

Yet there is one source of contaminants that I haven’t been able to do much about:  Our drinking water.

Sure, we have a PuR filter to help filter the water from our tap and I read the water quality reports from my local water authority.  But the local water authority is only required to report on contaminants regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-and the EPA only regulates a small percentage of the known pollutants found in America’s drinking water.

I recently came across an article in the Washington Post that preceeded the EPA’s Oct 2008 decision not to regulate perchlorate, a dangerous chemical shown to affect the thyroid and thus impair many hormone-related functions such as fertility, growth, and brain development.

According to Robert Zoeller, a University of Massachusetts professor who specializes in thyroid hormone and brain development and was quoted in the article, “[the EPA has] distorted the science to such an extent that they can justify not regulating” perchlorate.  “Infants and children will continue to be damaged, and that damage is significant.”

Zoeller said scientific studies have shown that a small reduction in thyroid function in infants can translate into a loss of IQ and an increase in behavioral and perception problems. “It’s absolutely irreversible,” he said. “Even small changes in thyroid functions early on have impacts on functioning through high school and even into people’s 20s.”

A reference to those studies in the EPA’s proposal was deleted by White House Office of Management and Budget officials, reportedly due in part to pressure from the Pentagon.

The original EPA document also found that bottle-fed infants would be exposed to more than five times the level the National Academy of Sciences deemed safe — 700 nanograms per kilogram of body weight per day — if parents mix formula with drinking water containing perchlorate levels of 15 ppb.  Breast-fed infants whose mothers are exposed to perchlorate would ingest even higher levels of the chemical, as perchlorate becomes highly concentrated in breastmilk at levels exponentially greater than other means of excretion.

The more I researched perchlorate, the more outraged I became.  The city of Albuquerque, where we live, is one of many cities across the country with known detection of perchlorate in the city water.  We and millions of other people across the country are exposed to unacceptable levels of perchlorate, which affect our health in a myriad of ways and disproportionately harm infants, children, and women of reproductive age.

What is perchlorate?

According to the American Water Works Association, perchlorate is both a naturally occurring and man-made ion used to form a variety of salts. The primary use of perchlorate today is as an oxidizer in solid rocket fuel and other propellants and to a lesser extent, in fireworks, explosives, and air-bag inflators.  It is also used in some municipal waste treatment plants around the country.

Why is perchlorate harmful?

Perchlorate interferes with iodide uptake into the thyroid gland, and the thyroid is a central control point for a variety of hormonal responses.  In fetuses, infants, and young children, thyroid hormones are critical for normal growth and development.  In adults, the thyroid helps to regulate metabolism and fertility.  Iodide deficiency in women (such as that caused by perchlorate exposure) can decrease levels of fertility, increase miscarriage rates, and lead to more serious health risks such as goiter and thyroid cancer.  Women with iodide deficiency who are lucky enough to become pregnant have a high risk of birthing babies with developmental problems-including behavioral disorders, delayed development and decreased learning capability.

“[the EPA has] distorted the science to such an extent that they can justify not regulating” perchlorate.  “Infants and children will continue to be damaged, and that damage is significant.”

Robert Zoeller
University of Massachusetts

Nursing women can excrete perchlorate in breastmilk in disproportionately high quantities, resulting in infant consumption of perchlorate at levels that far exceed the recommended limit per body weight. Kirk et al. (2005) analyzed 36 breast milk samples from 18 States (CA, CT, FL, GA, HI, MD, ME, MI, MO, NC, NE, NJ, NM, NY, TX, VA, WA, WV) and found perchlorate concentrations in all samples ranging from 1.4 to 92.2 μg/L.  For more specifics on the health effects of perchlorate (per the EPA’s highly edited official document) click here.

Where is perchlorate found?

Perchlorate is found in groundwater, surface water, drinking water, and also in our food sources around the country.  To find out whether perchlorate has been detected in your community, click here.  This list is not exhaustive and it is possible that you may be exposed to perchlorate in your drinking water even if your city is not on the list.  Some independent experts estimate that as many as 40 million Americans are affected by perchlorates in their drinking water.

What level of perchlorate consumption is considered “safe”?

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) conducted a study and issued a report in 2004 that stated that daily ingestion of up to 0.0007 milligrams per kilogram of body weight will not result in an adverse effect on the health of even the most sensitive populations.  This translates to a Drinking Water Equivalent Level of 24.5 ppb-based on an average body weight of 70 kg or 154 pounds.  While this is the “official” recommended level, independent studies have demonstrated adverse health effects of perchlorate consumption at levels inferior to the 0.0007 mg/kg of body weight.

The amount of perchlorate ingested by an exclusively breastfed baby will significantly exceed this recommended reference dose.

How are we exposed to perchlorate?

Contaminated drinking water is the most likely way to ingest perchlorate, according to the EPA.  Perchlorate has been detected in ground and surface water in 26 states and one territory. While it has often been detected in water supplies in close proximity to sites where solid rocket fuel is manufactured or used, there are also many locations in the United States lacking a clearly defined source.  Drinking water contaminated with perchlorate has been found throughout the country, however the highest density of perchlorate detection was found to be in Southern California, west central Texas, along the east coast between New Jersey and Long Island and in Massachusetts. In these communities perchlorate levels have been found to exceed the recent EPA recommendations by as much as 100 to 1000 times.

Because so many of our food sources also contain water or are irrigated with water, perchlorate is also found in lower concentrations in a variety of foods.  Studies conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Nov. 2004) and the Environmental Working Group (Apr. 2003) detected perchlorate in samples of lettuce in California. Several other studies also detected perchlorate in milk samples taken from California and Texas.

Water infused with perchlorate is used to irrigate crops throughout California-our nation’s largest producer of fresh produce.  It is found in high concentrations in leafy green vegetables.  Buying “organic” provides no safety from perchlorates as the organic label certification processes only review the direct use of pesticides, not the quality of the water used for irrigation.  Perchlorate is also found in meat-in particular grazing animals-who can ingest perchlorate from their own feed irrigated with contaminated water.

What can we do?

There is no question that perchlorate in groundwater and surface water (the sources of our drinking water) should be monitored, controlled, and ultimately eliminated.  At the very least it should be regulated in our drinking water, and ideally it should be eliminated from all water sources as it inevitably makes its way up the food chain due to irrigation.

We can write directly to President Obama to urge him to stop allowing America’s mothers and babies to be poisoned-and require the EPA to regulate perchlorate in our water.  We can write to our city and state officials urging them to do the same.  California and Texas are already moving to regulate perchlorate contamination in drinking water, and other states may follow suit.

Finally, we can all do our part to conserve water.  The more water we use, the more we compromise our water quality.  Low aquifers mean high concentrations of all types of contaminants, including perchlorates.  Vanishing aquifers mean that cities and states must find new sources of drinking water-replacing high-quality underground sources with water from rivers or lakes.  America’s rivers and lakes are almost universally contaminated with all sorts of pollutants that accumulate as water runs over the ground and absorbs perchlorates, pesticides, chemicals and even nuclear waste-most of which are not regulated by the EPA and sent straight to our taps.

We can’t continue to pander to corporate interests at the expense of our nation’s health, or continue consuming water as if it were an endless resource.  Perchlorate is the most recent harmful contaminant we’re finding in our water but if we continue in this direction, tomorrow will certainly reveal others.

• For more tips on how to advocate for perchlorate regulation, visit Nuprana’s Advocate section.
• For affordable and easy-to-use products that can help you conserve water in your home our business, visit Nuprana’s Purchase section.

Additional sources of information about perchlorate:

American Water Works Association

U.S. EPA

Elizabeth Beachy is co-founder and co-owner of Nuprana.com, a socially-conscious family business dedicated to water conservation.