#Water quality

[reasonsforhope]

"Despite a huge amount of political opposition from the chemical industry, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its first regulations aimed at limiting quantities of PFAs, or ‘forever chemicals,’ in American drinking water.

For decades, Polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAs have been used for coatings that resist fire, oil, stains, and water and are now found in a wide variety of products like waterproof clothing, stain-resistant furniture, food packaging, adhesives, firefighting spray foams, and non-stick cooking surfaces.

There are thousands of PFAS compounds with varying effects and toxicity levels, and the new EPA regulations will require water utilities to test for 6 different classes of them.

The new standards will reduce PFAS exposure—and thereby decrease the health risk—for 100 million people in the U.S.

A fund worth $1 billion for treatment and testing will be made available to water utilities nationwide—part of a $9 billion investment made possible by the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to assist communities impacted by PFAS contamination.

“Drinking water contaminated with PFAS has plagued communities across this country for too long,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan in a statement Wednesday.

Under Regan’s leadership, the EPA began in 2021 to establish a roadmap for dealing with widespread PFAS contamination, and so far they’ve gathered much data, including monitoring drinking water, and begun requiring more reports from businesses about use of the unregulated substances.

The agency reported that current peer-reviewed scientific studies have shown that exposure to certain levels of PFAS may lead to a myriad of health issues that are difficult to specify because of the variety of compounds coming from different places.

Regardless, the 66,000 water utility operators will have five years to test for the PFAS pollution and install necessary technology to treat the contamination, which the EPA estimates that 6%–10% of facilities will need. [Note: Deeply curious where they got a number that low, but anyway.]

Records show that some of the manufacturers knew these chemicals posed health hazards. A few major lawsuits in recent years have been settled that sought to hold chemical companies, like 3M, accountable for the environment damage.""

-via Good News Network, April 13, 2024

[toyastales]

If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water

- LOREN EISELEY

[mapsontheweb]

Bathing water rated as excellent quality

[thedisablednaturalist]

"Our filter, unlike plastic filters, does not contribute to further pollution as it uses renewable and biodegradable materials: tannic acids from plants, bark, wood and leaves, and wood sawdust—a forestry byproduct that is both widely available and renewable."

"In their research, the team analyzed microparticles shed from widely-used tea bags made of polypropylene. They observed that their technique, termed “bioCap,” captured between 95.2 percent and a staggering 99.9 percent of plastic particles in water, depending on the plastic type. When tested in mouse models, the process was proven to prevent the accumulation of microplastics in the organs"

They said this solution can be scaled up in places like water treatment plants and scaled down for use in the home as well. This is amazing news considering microplastics are one of the biggest problems impacting health these days.

[solarpunkbusiness]

French startup using mollusks to monitor and protect aquatic environments

Sentinel oysters and other bivalve mollusks are now monitoring ocean water quality and environmental degradation in multiple locations around the globe. And according to molluSCAN the startup who built the software and hardware that connects these shellfish into an environmental warning system, they do so with greater sensitivity, better longevity, and lower cost than non-biological systems.

The company uses aquatic bivalves, such as oysters, mussels, or clams to monitor the environment. These mollusks, which are filter feeders, react to changes in water conditions, helping to detect pollution and other disruptions in water quality.

HOW?

It’s no easy task. To use biological systems or animals as early warning detectors of pollution, you need to know what is unusual behavior. To sense unusual behavior, you have to deeply know usual behavior. In other words, you have to build essentially a simulation or digital twin of the actual animal and model its normal and healthy behavior, and you have to build a sensor system that detects and transmits abnormal behavior.

molluSCAN-eye achieved that thanks to over 20 years of research at the Arcachon Marine Station of the University of Bordeaux. Thanks to that data, the company build what it calls High Frequency Non-Invasive Valvometry: a fancy way of describing its incredibly sensitive technology for monitoring the tiniest of bivalve mollusks movements. When those movements follow irregular or abnormal patterns, the system alerts scientists that something is amiss.

A typical installation includes 16 mollusks, each fitted with a tiny sensor complete with a battery that has years of available power. The sensors, which measure animal behavior 10 times a second, connect to a nearby electronic control box that captures the data from each animal and relays it to scientists or technicians.

16 is the minimum number of mollusks to ensure statistical reliability of the captured signals.

“We use micro-electrodes that are very light, like one gram only outside of water, so it's like tenths of a gram inside water,” says Quinault. “So the animals don't feel anything and we measure every movement that they do, meaning the way they open or close at a very high level of precision down to the micrometer.”

[lost-carcosa]

[thefreethoughtprojectcom]

Studies have shown that prolonged exposure to PFAS in water may lead to cancer, decreased fertility, developmental delays in children, immune system suppression and other adverse health effects.

Read More: https://thefreethoughtproject.com/health/over-60-million-americans-exposed-to-toxic-drinking-water-as-epa-refuses-to-act

[copperbadge]

Hey Sam, not to be the guy that brings bad news, but the Guardian is reporting that there's a really high concentration of lead in Chicago's tap water. I think I remember you saying that you filter yours, but maybe time for a PSA?

It's an interesting article, although the high lead levels, especially disproportionately in communities of color in Chicago, have been known for some time. I'm glad they're getting attention again.

I do have a water filter though generally I drink unfiltered not because I'm a daredevil but because my building privately tests the water. In this building and my last building, we knew it was fine to drink. If you look on the map at the article, that "no lead here" area labeled "downtown"? That's where I live, at the southeastern edge of that area. It's likely that rather than having The Cleanest Overall Water they just didn't do much testing because relatively speaking very few people live in this area -- it's also why we had a super low case count during the height of COVID. We are a residential neighborhood, but not in the densely packed way that areas around us are.

To me, the lead levels in Chicago water are almost more alarming than the violence I talked about earlier, because this is a relatively easy fix -- an expensive fix, but unlike trying to ameliorate violence, it's got a straightforward solution, just replace the damn pipes. But Chicago doesn't want to spend the money and also lbr most of the city government doesn't actually give much of a shit about our communities of color.

I will say, on the one hand, like...I don't mind doing a PSA. But I think it's probably good to remember -- sometimes people do forget! -- that just because I live in Chicago doesn't mean the majority, or even a significant minority, of my readership does. Me doing localized PSAs of any kind, in Chicago or elsewhere, is not necessarily super effective -- the readership is too scattered for that. But it's interesting to chew over, and I'll throw it in the Chicago tag so people are aware.

[salted-fox-musings]

(not the biggest fan of doing this but the water is getting bad man and we're not really in the best of financial shape to do anything about it so I'm gonna shoot my shot.) Hey, this is Lea and we're having an issue with the quality of our water.

For those that live in Mesa, AZ, issues with the water quality have been a day-to-day struggle but today we were told that our water quality is no longer considered safe for long-term consumption. With a recent TDS score of 587, that puts our water that has been filtered from the tap over what is considered the maximum for drinking water at 500. It's possible with the recent water shortages and changes of where our water is sourced, it has caused the water quality to suffer.

So, what can we do about it?

The short answer is that we only have two options. We either switch to purchasing and using bottled water for both drinking and cooking, or we look into having a reverse osmosis system installed. The RO system is the more expensive upfront option with the chance it will pay for itself down the line and the actual target of this fundraiser.

So how much do I need?

1,050.00 for the system itself, $247 for the installation and an additional 160 to have our refrigerator connected to the system should we choose to do so.

What's the point?

Drinking high TDS water can lead to a lot of health problems, specifically with your kidney and your digestive system. Depending on the actual mineral load in the water as well can cause its own series of issues. The other concerns is also the damage it's doing to the appliances that are connected to the water system as it can lead up to a mineral buildup in pipes that cannot be reached or cleaned.

Finally, I want to thank you for taking the time to read through this and for the consideration of your support should you choose to assist us.

[allmichigan]

All clear beneath Copper Harbor

For almost all my life, Lake Superior has been the cleanest & clearest of the five Great Lakes. Imagine my surprise to learn that in 2017, Lake Michigan & Lake Huron were found to be more clear than Lake Superior!

Lake Superior, Copper Harbor, MI by Michigan Nut Photography Let’s stay up on the Keweenaw Peninsula today with a look at the crystal clear waters of Lake Superior as seen from under the surface of Copper Harbor! For almost all my life, Lake Superior has been the cleanest & clearest of the five Great Lakes. Imagine my surprise to learn that in 2017, Lake Michigan & Lake Huron were found to be…

[mapsontheweb]

Percentage of Bathing Waters with Excellent Quality in the European Union, by country.

Highest : 🇦🇹 Austria 97.7%

Lowest : 🇵🇱 Poland 44.5%

by @Maps_interlude

[thedisablednaturalist]

Hey everyone! Do you like macro invertebrates?? Do you like supporting clean water initiatives? Do you like stickers?

If you donate at least $20 USD to the Izaak Walton League of America, they will send you a bunch of stickers! Like the one I have on my wheelchair

The Izaak Walton League is awesome! They are the ones who trained me on doing macro surveys and how I became a water monitor (and eventually got my current job). They give FREE training to anyone interested in doing stream monitoring as well as reimbursements on equipment. They collect data submitted from stream monitors to support stream restoration efforts across the country!

You can donate here

[bananarchy4ever]

"Chemical pollution from car tires is killing off salmon." - Nicolas Cage

[disableism]

Currently, in my county, there’s an Air Quality Warning* and a Boil Water Advisory**.

But yeah, the world is fine. We are all fine here now. How are you?

*my chest has been tight all day

**wish I’d known before I drank 20 ounces of water in an hour

[the-football-chick]

According to consumer advisory group, J.D. Power who used these factors in their rankings:

quality and reliability

price

conservation

billing and payment

communications

customer service

Source