Water Supply

Lake Meade levels paint a frightening picture

We’ve experienced drought in the Lehigh Valley: crops have shriveled, lawns turned brown, sometimes wells even went dry. But the drought in the Southwest is like nothing we’ve seen here; at least not in our lifetimes. They’ve had 14 years of a dry so severe it’s left Lake Meade – the largest reservoir in the…

40 years of the Safe Drinking Water Act

2014 marks an important date for the water coming out of your tap: Four decades of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Signed into law by President Gerald Ford in 1974, the Safe Drinking Water Act was, quite literally, a watershed moment for public health and safety. It set federally mandated standards regarding the quality of…

Bill passage clears the way for much-needed WIFIA

President Obama passed the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) on Tuesday, paving the way for the creation of the long-awaited Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Authority.      We first wrote about WIFIA back in 2012, when we reported that “Communities across the country are being confronted with a daunting challenge: replacing the aging, underground pipes that carry drinking…

A novel idea: This book’s pages actually purify water

Talk about a good book: a collaboration between Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Virginia, the charity Water is Life and The Drinkable Book project resulted in a book that not only provides information on clean water, but can actually be used to purify up to four years worth of clean water. You read that correctly. The…

For some mothers, clean water is the best gift

This inspiring video celebrates the strength of three mothers who not only changed their families’ lives, but undoubtably saved them, all because they were brave enough to fight for clean water and better sanitation. This weekend, when you wish your mom a happy Mother’s Day, remember all the things that mothers around the world do…

Study: Cigarette contaminants showing up in water

Here’s one more reason to quit smoking: A study shows that contaminants from cigarettes can show up in drinking water. According to Water Online  and Environmental Science & Technology,  residual chemicals from cigarettes were found in both treated water and wastewater. The chemicals – all carcinogens — can also be found in rivers, oceans, lakes, and…