In a chilling expose today, Toxic Waters – Clean Water Laws are Neglected, at a Cost to Health, Charles DuHigg of the New York Times covers the impunity of polluters and lax regulation of clean water laws. The NYT then goes a step further – creating transparency through a public database of violations which is ‘more comprehensive than the states or the EPA‘, that you can access to find polluters near you on an interactive map. There is also a nice interactive graphic of the Clean Water Act enforcement record in all 50 states. Deep cuts were made in government funding, and now clearly our Environmental Health Monitoring system needs repair. Democracy needs a strong, free media who reports and then acts. Who knew the NYT would be a key environmental health policy innovator overnight?

The New York Times obtained hundreds of thousands of water pollution records through Freedom of Information Act requests to every state and the E.P.A., and compiled
a national database of water pollution violations that is more comprehensive than those maintained by states or the E.P.A. (For an interactive version, which can show violations in any community, visit www.nytimes.com/toxicwaters.)

In addition, The Times interviewed more than 250 state and federal regulators, water-system managers, environmental advocates and scientists.

That research shows that an estimated one in 10 Americans have been exposed to drinking water that contains dangerous chemicals or fails to meet a federal health benchmark in other ways.

Because most of today’s water pollution has no scent or taste, many people who consume dangerous chemicals do not realize it, even after they become sick, researchers say.

Ryan Massey, 7, shows his caps. Dentists near Charleston, W.Va., say pollutants in drinking water have damaged residents’ teeth. Nationwide, polluters have violated the Clean Water Act more than 500,000 times. Photo: Damon Winter/ NYT

Before you reach for that Evian, bottled water is also not regulated – the National Resources Defense Council did a study Bottled Water: Pure Drink or Pure HypeFull Report) which details the situation and has been putting pressure on Congress to pass laws to test bottled water for contaminants (Senate Testimony by NRDC Attorney Mae Wu). In July, the House heard testimony (New York Times article), and immediately afterward the committee sent letters to 13 companies requesting more information about the source of their water and how it is tested (

Ok, I don’t have any time to read an executive summary – just give me some FAQs like how can I find out where my bottled water comes from?

However, the scariest part of the Toxic Waters article for me – how money is getting poured into technological innovations at the expense of basic necessities of life being safe.

“How can we get digital cable and Internet in our homes, but not clean water?” said Mrs. Hall-Massey, a senior accountant at one of the state’s largest banks.

She and her husband, Charles, do not live in some remote corner of Appalachia. Charleston, the state capital, is less than 17 miles from her home.

“How is this still happening today?” she asked.