The opinion article I found in the Washington Post titled “Awash in Troubles” talks about the confusion and stress over drinking water in the D.C. area. Apparently there has been a lead contamination issue for quite some time now and D.C. residents are not sure if it’s safe to drink tap water. The city’s water authority hasn’t been helpful when it comes to looking for answers. The D.C. Water and Sewer and Authority (also known as WASA) had been the agency that dealt with the lead crisis from 2001 to 2004, obviously they didn’t do a very good job. There was an article written in the Washington Post previously by reporter Carol D. Leonning about the high lead levels not having a serious impact on health. The article was dismissed as being “scientifically dubious,” but an earlier article in the Environmental Science and Technology Journal is being looked at. The author insists that Washington D.C. being independent water testing to insure the safety of the public. Early 2008, an independent testing program proposal had been submitted by D.C. Council member Jim Graham, but didn’t get through. Currently, the D.C. Department of the Environment is looking to find construct some kind of program for water testing, and Graham and council member Mary M. Cheh are looking to “press the city’s inspector general to look into WASA’s actions.”
To be honest, I thought the article was very boring, confusing, and random (among the other editorials involving intense politics). Undoubtedly, with the huge lead scare with products being made in China, finding lead in your drinking water, which you think is supposed to be safe, would disturb any ordinary person.
Families are probably most worried about the drinking water and the safety of their children. I saw on the news that the other day that there was a drinking water lawsuit, so maybe the D.C. residents have finally decided to do something about this. If there has been a lead crisis going on for about three years, action should have been taken a while back. D.C. is the capital of our nation, it deserves to shine bright. Issues like this shouldn’t be a problem. The people shouldn’t have to worry about things like contaminated water in 21st century America; but if there’s an issue, that too in the nation’s capital, that’s saying a lot about American standards.
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