Water Bills Surged More Than Other Costs in US Homes Over a Decade

Drinking water costs spiked faster than inflation, grocery prices and median household income, researchers at nonprofit Food & Water Watch outlined in a first-of-its-kind report released Tuesday. The average community water system increased household drinking water prices by 62 percent between 2015 and 2025 — with costs in Louisiana, Maryland and New Hampshire having particularly steep rises…
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Pesticide Linked to Cancer Pollutes 25 Percent of US River and Stream Miles

A cancer-linked pesticide banned in more than 60 countries around the world contaminates an estimated 25% of river and stream miles in the lower 48 US states, including many waterways used for drinking water, according to a new analysis. The analysis from the Center for Biological Diversity builds on evidence that atrazine — which is commonly used to grow corn, soybeans…
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EPA Punts Microplastics Monitoring as Scientists Warn of Health Impacts

If you’ve ever looked at a disposable bottle of water with suspicion before tossing it into a bin, you’re far from alone. On August 8, leading scientists across globe published an editorial in The Lancet warning there is “strong evidence” that plastics harm human health and natural ecosystems at every stage of production and consumption — from fracking for the fossil fuels used to make plastics…
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Trump’s EPA Rolls Back Protections Against PFAS in Drinking Water

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday proposed dropping limits for four cancer-linked “forever chemicals” in drinking water established during the Biden administration, saying the changes were rushed and not in compliance with federal law. At the same time, the EPA said it is earmarking nearly $1 billion in grant funding for communities to tackle per- and polyfluoroalkyl…
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SCOTUS Case on Munitions in Guam Could Set Precedent for Indigenous Rights

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that could determine the future of a beach with cultural and ecological importance to the Indigenous CHamoru people of Guam. The case is an appeal from the U.S. Air Force, which wants to continue the open detonation of obsolete munitions on Tarague Beach in northern Guam — a site located directly above the sole-source aquifer providing 80 percent of…
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Safe Drinking Water Is a Basic Human Right That Texas Prisons Fail to Respect

A recent report from the Texas Civil Rights Project reveals widespread and longstanding failures in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s (TDCJ) provision of safe drinking water to those incarcerated in state prisons. People are forced to drink and bathe with water they describe as over-chlorinated, slimy, and foul-smelling. The only source of water within most of their cells is a small sink…
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