Millrace, Mt. Vernon Distillery and Grist Mill Park, Fairfax, VA
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For residents of the Washington, DC area, there have been a number of drinking water issues in this current, exceptionally cold, early (meteorological) winter. Water main breaks have been all too common, especially in the District of Columbia and in portions of Maryland served by the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission. A combination of long periods of freezing weather and old pipes makes long established urban areas vulnerable to breaks. While the District of Columbia claims to be replacing old pipe at an accelerated rate, there are still many kilometers of old cast-iron pipe, so weather induced breaks are to be expected until warmer weather returns.A second issue raised in Sunday's right-wing Washington Post is the presence of hexavalent chromium in the water supplies of a number of urban areas including Washington. While I have not seen the movie (I do not care for Julia Roberts in any role), apparently that chemical was the cause of the supposedly courageous activities of Erin Brokovich. Hexavalent chromium is a known carcinogen, but at the moment its presence in drinking water is noted but not regulated. Current evidence indicates the chemical is in the water supplies of many urban area in the United States.
