Trump's EPA keeps saying that water contamination is the country's top enivornmental priority, so why is another city drinking lead contaminated water just like Flint, Michigan? Newark, New Jersey is another majority African American city, just like Flint. And just like Flint,
they are drinking water that is making them sick.
Sign on to tell the EPA to get it together and replace the pipes and fix the city filtration plant now!Officials have been trying to downplay how bad the water quality is for another a year now. They've even taken small steps like giving out water filtration systems. Most recently, they are making bottled water accessible to residents "worried about water quality". But the thing is: every single resident of Newark should be worried about water quality and every single resident of Newark shouldn't have to be.
The toxic lead in the city's water supply is coming from two big issues: one is the very old pipes that aren't maintained and are leaking lead, the other is that one of the biggest water filtration plants is not actually getting the lead out of the water supply. But the city and the EPA aren't doing a single thing to fix those problems for the city. Instead, they are giving out a couple water filers and some bottled water; a classic bandaid for a bullet wound approach.
Drinking lead in your water is linked with terrible health outcomes, including neurological disorders and even death. When you look at where the dirty drinking water is, the problem becomes even worse because it's in neighborhoods with low income and mostly people of color living there. Why should the poorest people among us be in charge of paying for filtration and bottled water when it's not their fault the water is dirty in the first place? You know things are especially bad when pregnant people and children are especially cautioned to drink only bottled water.
Please sign on if you think the health of the Newark residents should be a priority for the EPA and the city!