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National Research Council Completes Three-Year Review of USGS Water Quality Program
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The National Academies' National Research Council (NRC) has released a pre-publication report resulting from a three-year analysis of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA). The report, entitled "Preparing for the Third Decade (Cycle 3) of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program," provides perspectives of on past NAWQA Program activities and makes recommendations regarding the current and future design and scope of the Program. The study is the result of a three-year review of NAWQA by the NRC. View the report's Table of Contents and read it in full by clicking this link.
For more information, contact Mark Gorman, Policy Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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Lead in Water: Partial Lead Service Line Replacements Are a Problem
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Service lines made of lead that feed water to residences are especially common in older neighborhoods in the Northeast-Midwest region and the subject of a new report from American University's Investigative Reporting Workshop. Service lines are pipes through which water flows from utility-owned water mains to the customer's tap. Typically a portion of the service line is owned by the utility and a portion by the homeowner. Complete lead service line replacement is ideal to prevent exposure to lead in drinking water, but utilities usually do not have the authority or funding to replace the portion of the line on the homeowner's property. In these cases, partial lead service line replacement has been recommended by EPA to comply with the Lead and Copper Rule, which requires utilities to test water from local homes for lead. This report describes how partial lead service line replacement, originally thought to reduce potential exposure to lead in drinking water, may actually increase exposure to lead over the short and long term by shaking lead particles loose during construction and introducing galvanic corrosion at the new connection to a copper line. EPA is currently working on revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule.
For more information, contact Elin Betanzo, Senior Policy Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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Growing Sustainable Communities Conference
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The 5th Annual Growing Sustainable Communities Conference will be held in Dubuque, Iowa on October 2-3, 2012. The conference will provide local government and business leaders with educational workshops relating to sustainability in water, energy, transportation, and community engagement. For more information and registration details, visit http://gscdubuque.com/.
For more information, contact Beth Zgoda, Policy Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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