Another Unnoticed Water Contamination Issue

Flint, Michigan’s problem with lead contaminated drinking water has made headlines across the nation. Residents in the area complained about the odor, taste and appearance of their water soon after state officials switched its supply source from Lake Huron to the polluted Flint River. Their complaints went largely unnoticed and unanswered for nearly TWO YEARS before officials finally acknowledged the lead contamination problem.

The state Department of Environmental Quality admitted their mistake of failing to require the addition of corrosion-control chemicals to the water which lead to the contamination. Now the city of Flint is in a state of crisis; President Obama even pledged five million dollars in federal aid to assist in the effort to provide much needed water filters and other water filtration supplies for Flint residents.

Lead contaminated drinking water can lead to permanent brain damage, especially in children … and unfortunately the damage is irreversible. Pediatricians fear that the Flint children found with elevated lead levels will suffer lifelong consequences from this problem. Lead poisoning is also associated with gastrointestinal problems, headaches, irritability, fatigue, kidney dysfunction and high blood pressure in both children and adults. So how could something this serious go either unnoticed or unacknowledged for so long?

Many fingers have been pointed at the Department of Environmental Quality as well as to Governor Snyder. Bottom line however, an attempt to cut costs was the main catalyst for this crisis. This type of problem is not unique; companies looking to save a few dollars have dumped toxic chemicals into the water supply leading to water contamination and others have cut back on safety measures which has led to chemical spills. It happens way too frequently, which makes water filtration all across America a necessity, now more than ever before.

A water filtration system, such as an RO system or a LINX Drinking Water System can filter out lead and other harmful contaminates before they have the opportunity to reach the tap. They can help homeowners filter out known contaminates, but they are also an extra step of protection for those unknown contaminates that may sneak into the water supply. While the water contamination problem would have still existed in Flint, the lead poisoning residents are seeing in their children would have been completely avoided if they had access to a drinking water filtration systems.