July 10, 2020
This week: Legislation to Address Water Access Focus of All About Water Webinars + Governor Whitmer Extends Water Reconnection To Year’s End + Great Lake Water Temperatures Spike Due to Heat + Michigan Airports Receive $2.5 Million In Grants For PFAS Testing + Wastewater Can Show Early Detection of COVID-19 Outbreaks
Legislation to Address Water Access Focus of All About Water Webinars
Hosted by Freshwater Future, the All About Water Webinars focused on policy solutions to address access to affordable, safe drinking water and how we can work together to ensure that water is turned on, stays on and is affordable. Visit our website to view the slides from presenters and links to recorded sessions.
Water as a Human Right Legislation Gaining Bipartisan Support in D.C.
Representative Rashida Tlaib shared on the All About Water Webinar that Republicans and Democrats are sponsoring legislation to continue moratoriums on water shutoffs while we are still fighting this pandemic. Water is essential for life and protecting public health. No one person should ever have to worry about whether they are able to put food on the table or have water flowing from their taps. You can urge your Congressional member today to support and work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to swiftly pass the Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity and Reliability (WATER) Act and the Emergency Water is a Human Right Act.
Governor Whitmer Extends Water Re-connection Order To Year’s EndThe number one preventive measure taken to fight against COVID-19 is washing our hands. Gov. Whitmer extended the water reconnection order until the end of the year to help people do exactly that. We know there are still people who have not been reconnected, and that there are groups including Freshwater Future working to change that. Great Lake Water Temperatures Spike Due to HeatSeveral days of sunny, hot, calm weather resulted in large portions of the Great Lakes warming significantly in some places over ten degrees in just five days. Astounding visuals and video forecast of how and where the Great Lakes temperatures have increased can be seen here. Michigan Airports Receive $2.5 Million In Grants For PFAS TestingFire-fighting foams containing the toxic chemical called PFAS have been used for decades to put out jet fuel fires. Fire department training and use of foams contaminated groundwater and drinking water. The Michigan PFAS Action Response Team is awarding municipal airports throughout the state grant funding for testing of PFAS contamination. Areas like Pellston, MI have been issued $250,000 of this grant due to known impacts on residential wells. Wastewater Can Show Early Detection of COVID-19 OutbreaksResearching human waste has proven to be an effective model for tracing and pinpointing COVID-19 infected populations before the area experiences an uptick in cases. In particular, targeting the asymptomatic group that unknowingly carries the virus and spreads it to more vulnerable populations is what makes this research that much more valuable. |
Blog – Freshwater Future
https://freshwaterfuture.org/uncategorized/freshwater-weekly-july-13-2020/