Please take a look at the 17 photos accompanying the article below to see the daily labor residents have to carry out to have some clean water. In the governor's town of East Lansing, pipe installation would happen in a more than timely fashion. It should also be noted that no St. Joe residents have crossed the river to help out.
Rev. Pinkney says that the statements of Elin Betanzo, a water quality expert and former EPA official, are the most important part of the article. They are at the end.
EPA says Benton Harbor tap water filters are working properly
BENTON HARBOR, MI — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says filters distributed by the state and county health departments since 2018 to remove lead from tap water in Benton Harbor are working effectively.
When properly installed and used, filters are removing lead from municipal tap water, the EPA said last week, following a 2021 study of about 200 homes in Benton Harbor.
The study was launched in response to a request from community advocates who sought a federal intervention following three years of high lead levels in city water.
Petitioners expressed concern that health officials were distributing point-of-use faucet filters and water pitcher filters in response to elevated lead risk but weren’t taking steps to ensure they worked or that people were using them properly.
They asked that EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) conduct a filter study.
While noting that the filters are working, the EPA nonetheless concurred that Benton Harbor residents “need better information to install and operate filters properly,” and said the agency would help distribute educational materials.
