While the water crisis in Flint, Michigan has fueled concerns over the safety of drinking water in cities across America, the question that is likely on everyone's minds--what level of lead makes it unsafe for our health-- still has no definitive answers, USA Today reports in a massive investigation of water supplies across the country. USA today quotes an EPA source as saying, "there is no safe level of lead exposure," however the agency does allow a limit of 15 parts per billion in drinking water. Still, at what point should people stop drinking their water is still very unclear.
Over the last few months, water has become the focus of debate in the United States as ugly details of the Flint water crisis come to light. The problem of water contamination is ubiquitous global. Some 2 million tons of sewage and other effluent drain into the world's waters, according to the United Nations. To explore the issue, students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and New York University (NYU) explored how microbes can both contribute to and diminish water pollution.
California isn't the only one having a water crisis. Yesterday, Lake Mead sank to its lowest level yet. The watery behemoth created by the construction of the Hoover Dam in the 1930s was reduced to a mere 1,080.07 feet above sea level, minimally smaller than the previous record of 1,080.19 set last August.
