Lead bottom and water

[tw]

Originally Posted by Beestie

Intake water for a lot of municipalities is corrosive. And polluted. And laced with discarded medication and on and on. Intake water is supposed to be treated to remove these impurities before it is delivered to the citizens. Is the argument that Flint's water treatment facility sucks so we better start with clean water where this begins?

Some of the cleanest water is available in nearby Lake Huron. Less treatment - less costs. But that means making decisions based upon the product. Cheaper is to take corrosive water from the Flint River and not treat it (as required even by Federal law). The product (and consumers) is irrelevant to business school graduates. Decisions were made only on costs and spread sheets.

If Flint River water was treated as required, then costs would increase - not decrease. That violates then entire purpose of making decisions based on money. Need we remember this same decision process killed seven Challenger astronauts?

More Michigan state administrators resigned today. Wind dummies to protect the boss - Govenor Snyder. Anyone remember Bridge Gate and Gov Christie?

Some cleanest water seen is the Delaware River above Port Jervis (above New Jersey's northernmost point). Even when water was clearly getting dirtier in the 1980s, it was still rated class A water (cleanest) by the National Park Service. During Clinton's administration, this water clearly got cleaner again.

Philadelphia does not tap the Delaware River. It is too dirty. Schuykill River is cleaner. So what happens between Port Jervis and Philadelphia to make water bad?

Treatment does not sufficiently remove many nastys such as medications, minerals (ie lead), etc. Ph levels can be adjusted to within 0.1 by required chemical treatment. In some cases (maybe also in this one), a cheaper chlorine may be used, again, to save money. That chemical can increase lead contamination.

Management did not come from where the work gets done. So decisions were made to harm Flint residents. Had they used a gun, it would have been called attempted murder. But because it was finance people, it was only called a mistake.

[Undertoad]

Originally Posted by tw

Philadelphia does not tap the Delaware River. It is too dirty. Schuykill River is cleaner.

I have looked into this before... half of Philadelphia water comes from the Delaware.



pdf source

[tw]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

I have looked into this before... half of Philadelphia water comes from the Delaware.

That would be when enough water cannot be provided by the Schuylkill River. Note contamination levels. Highest contamination is from the Delaware River. Cleanest is from the Schuylkill. Delaware is used mostly when additional water is needed.

Water is fungible. That map is simply a ball park estimate when all plants are fully operational. Water from the Delaware needs more treatment - costs more. Whenever possible, Philadelphia uses cleaner (and therefore less expensive) water from other two plants.

Observe water approaching Philly's cleanest plant. Expect to see a dead body in it. That is Philly's cleanest water?

So again, what happens between Port Jervis and Philadelphia?

[Undertoad]

Originally Posted by tw

That would be when enough water cannot be provided by the Schuylkill River. Note contamination levels. Highest contamination is from the Delaware River. Cleanest is from the Schuylkill. Delaware is used mostly when additional water is needed.

Water is fungible. That map is simply a ball park estimate when all plants are fully operational. Water from the Delaware needs more treatment - costs more. Whenever possible, Philadelphia uses cleaner (and therefore less expensive) water from other two plants.

(same source as above; Philadelphia Water Department)

Observe water approaching Philly's cleanest plant. Expect to see a dead body in it. That is Philly's cleanest water?

Your information and observations are decades out of date.

So again, what happens between Port Jervis and Philadelphia?

Almost nothing, thanks to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, the Clean Water Act of 1977, the Water Quality Act of 1987 and the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1996.

Need hard proof? It's all in this marvelous 500 page 2002 assessment of the Delaware River which lists every measurement of every pollutant in every tributary. Here are the major issues that impact water quality of the Delaware. This is what happens after Port Jervis:

• Acid mine drainage
• Discharges from septic systems, sewerage systems, and wastewater treatment plants
• Dumping, tire piles, salvage yards, and abandoned industry in or near the floodplain
• Agricultural runoff of herbicides, pesticides, fertilizer, sediment, and phosphorus
• Erosion and construction runoff
• Dam removal and sediment releases
• Catastrophic accidents and spills, particularly oil delivery spills, from roads, trains, and fires
• Road runoff
• Wildlife management

Most of the issues do not come from large, heavy polluters. Surprisingly, the main culprits: storm water runoff, sewage systems, service stations, and dry cleaning plants.

Not surprisingly, one of the issues is Canadian Geese. (That's the Wildlife management section) Those fuckers are shitting everywhere. But they wouldn't even be here if the water wasn't clean.

~ you're welcome ~

[gvidas]

A Flint home had tap water containing as much lead as the EPA limit for unleaded gasoline.

http://flintwaterstudy.org/2015/08/h...seholds-water/

Virginia Tech collaborated with Ms. Walters’ on a follow-up sampling event. In this case we used bottles that allowed consumers to use water at a normal flow rate. We also collected 30 bottles from her home at low, medium and high flow rates. The drinking water samples all had extremely high lead levels between 200 ppb to 13,200 ppb (Figure 2).

Since 1996, the EPA has prohibited the sale of gasoline for highway use containing more than 0.05 grams per gallon.

1 gallon = 3.78541 liters
0.05 grams per 3.78541 liters = 0.0132086088429 grams per liter = 13208.6 parts per billion

[Griff]

Originally Posted by tw

Some of the cleanest water is available in nearby Lake Huron.

Possibly dependent on willingness or capacity to break a treaty.

The guilty parties should be stripped of assets and do time.