Sustainability Report: Why Do We Tolerate Toxic Water?

Full article: Sustainability Report: Why Do We Tolerate Toxic Water?

When it comes to clean water, the intersection of human health, environmental stewardship and economics create murky depths difficult to fathom. A stunning example of this is still playing out in Flint, Michigan. It started in August 2014 when positive tests for contaminants in the city’s tap water prompted an advisory for citizens to boil their water for safety. The crisis grew until a state of emergency was declared in January 2016 due to excessive lead contamination that was poisoning children.

The fact that the richest country in the world would not provide safe drinking water for its citizens just to save money made international headlines. Yet 452 miles to the south, the creation of contaminated ground water around the Kayford Mountain in West Virginia is largely unknown. Located in the heart of the Appalachian Mountain chain, many of Kayford’s peaks have been dynamited and dumped into the valley below. The dumping buries creeks and streams, leaching lead and other toxins into the groundwater below. The dynamiting, which occurs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, sprays dust and rock into the air, spreading coal dust and contaminants farther. Regular and devastating flooding occurs because water running off […]