Freshwater Weekly: December 21st, 2019

December 20, 2019

This week:  Will Slow Action and Politics Result in Asian Carp in the Great Lakes? + Update on Uranium Site Spill in the Detroit River  + New York State Bill to Fund Purchase of Floodplain Properties + Bipartisan US Bill Introduced to Address Emerging Threats to Drinking Water  + It’s Raining and Snowing PFAS

Will Slow Action and Politics Result in Asian Carp in the Great Lakes?

More environmental DNA of Asian carp discovered this fall in the South Fork of Chicago River’s South Branch (also known as Bubbly Creek) is a warning that more must be done to prevent these voracious fish from establishing in the Great Lakes.  Slow and delayed action to fund and install barriers benefits the shipping industry but could result in devastating impacts to commercial fishing and the Great Lakes ecology.

Update on Uranium Site Spill in the Detroit River

Last week, we shared the announcement that erosion and spill of possible radioactive material into the Detroit River at a bulk storage site posed a risk to downstream drinking water sources.  Freshwater Future staff member, Alexis Smith, attended a public meeting inquiring about the lack of oversight and transparency.   Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy issued a violation to Revere Dock and Detroit Bulk Storage for allowing the material to enter the river.

New York State Bill to Fund Purchase of Floodplain Properties

New York is considering a new program to help people sell land in floodplains to address recent flooding problems in the Mohawk Valley, Southern Tier and shores of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. The legislation introduced would increase the sale price to pre-flood conditions, helping people to purchase new homes.

Bipartisan US Bill Introduced to Address Emerging Threats to Drinking Water

The Safe Drinking Water Assistance Act introduced last week with bipartisan support would help states respond to emerging contaminants, like PFAS.  If passed the legislation would develop a research strategy to improve the identification, analysis, and treatment methods for emerging contaminants and provide federal support and technical assistance to communities that have emerging contaminants in their water supply.

It’s Raining and Snowing PFAS

A study conducted for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program found PFAS in rainwater.  Rainwater samples taken over a week from 30 different sites, mostly on the east coast contained one of 36 different PFAS compounds studied. The concentration of PFAS varied with several measuring less than 1 ppt, but one sample had 5.5 ppt.

Give the Gift of Clean Water

It’s not too late to give the gift of clean water with a gift membership to Freshwater Future.  We will send the gift recipient a card, set of note cards, and a Great Lakes sticker. Best of all, the gift membership supports our work to take on threats to our drinking water and finding solutions that give people the tools to advocate for clean water in their communities.

PFAS Test Kits – GIFT a KIT!
Freshwater Future believes everyone has a right to know what is in their drinking water, regardless of what’s in their wallets. We have partnered with the University of Michigan Biological Station and other donors to offer PFAS testing for homes on private wells at reduced rates. You can help make our kits even more accessible by selecting Gift a Kit at check out. We’ll use your donation to send a kit to someone else as part of our “Pay What You Can Program”. Get (or gift) your test kits today!

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Original Article

Blog – Freshwater Future

Blog – Freshwater Future

https://freshwaterfuture.org/uncategorized/freshwater-weekly-december-21st-2019/

Alexis Smith