Why I Want to Know

Posted on April 24, 2007 | Filed Under Clean Water, Healthy Waters, Sewage 

baerKatherine Baer, Director Healthy Waters Campaign
Healthy Waters, Right to Know

Do you remember the ecoli outbreak on the bagged spinach last fall - upon getting reports of the tainted veggies, the FDA immediately and rightly issued a warning not to eat the spinach because it was dicey for our health (although more recently, our dog friends have not fared as well).

gushing outfall large Similarly, I know that it’s unsafe for me to go running outside during the summer when the air pollution alert is orange or red. Why is it then that if I live in most places, I don’t know when there’s raw sewage in my local creek? Raw sewage causes all kinds of sicknesses and infections and yet there’s not a consistent nationwide requirement that sewage treatment plants tell you when they spill or overflow into your stream or river.

As usual, some states are already ahead of the feds on this one and have some really good laws on the books. But in other states people swim in sewage without knowing it showing why we really need strong federal law that will require some consistent, sewage spill notification basics for the entire country. Because we all have a fundamental right to know what’s in our environment so we can make the best choices for our health, we’re working for new legislation that would require a publicly owned treatment works to:

Similar legislation has been introduced in the past, but now is the time to make this happen. While we will still need better enforcement, more money for better treatment technology and other solutions to reduce sewage, sewage right to know is a critical part of this process.

Remember, Popeye doesn’t have to eat sick spinach, so why should we have to swim in raw sewage?

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Comments

One Response to “Why I Want to Know”

  1. Gary on April 24th, 2007 1:23 pm

    It never ceases to amaze me that sewage spills get as little attention as they do. Particularly after last years e. coli scare.

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