drinking water

HHS will review guidance on the addition of fluoride to drinking water

4:18pm April 10, 2025

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has blamed the addition of fluoride — a common, naturally occurring mineral — for a host of health issues. The CDC says the policy has reduced cavities by some 25%.

Residential Recycled Water Fill Stations Offer Water For Reuse On Lawns And Gardens

Fluoride analysis triggers renewed debate over what levels are safe for kids

5:30am January 09, 2025

A new study suggests a link between high levels of fluoride and lowered IQ. It's heating up arguments over fluoridating drinking water, which dentists say is critical for protecting teeth.

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How a California county got PFAS out of its drinking water

12:48pm September 12, 2024

Water utilities across the country will have to comply with EPA limits on "forever chemicals" in drinking water by 2029. Orange County, Calif., got a head start.

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Nearly Half Of U.S. Tap Water Contains Forever Chemicals, Study Finds

Health & Safety

The EPA's new limits on PFAS in drinking water face legal challenges

1:34pm June 21, 2024

by Pien Huang

Chemical companies and water utilities are challenging the EPA’s recent rule putting limits on six PFAS chemicals in drinking water.

Environment

Study shows humans may be similarly impacted from 'forever chemicals' that researchers are finding in animals

4:40pm June 06, 2024

by Paul Garber

WFDD’s Paul Garber spoke with NC State endocrine toxicologist Scott Belcher about his work studying PFAS chemicals in wildlife. He begins by explaining why alligators in the Cape Fear River basin are important indicators of the potential health impacts of PFAS on humans.

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Mitchell Water Treatment Plant in Greensboro.

Health & Safety

Greensboro water quality meets or surpasses EPA standards

2:19pm June 04, 2024

by David Ford

Greensboro's 2023 Annual Drinking Water Quality Consumer Confidence Report shows that the city's water is safe to drink.

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EPA is limiting PFAS chemicals in drinking water in the U.S.

EPA puts limits on 'forever chemicals' in drinking water

5:01am April 10, 2024

by Pien Huang

PFAS chemicals have been used for decades to waterproof and stain-proof consumer products and are linked to health problems.

Many cities have older lead service lines connecting homes to the water system.

Lead in the drinking water is still a problem in the U.S. — especially in Chicago

5:00am April 01, 2024

by Pien Huang

The Windy City has the most lead pipes of any U.S. city. A study estimates that more than two-thirds of children there are exposed to lead in their home tap water.

Lead water pipes pulled from underneath the street in Newark, N.J., in 2021.

Biden administration proposes strictest lead pipe rules in more than three decades

8:49am November 30, 2023

by The Associated Press

Most cities would have to replace lead water pipes within 10 years under new rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency aimed to prevent like the ones in Flint, Mich. and Washington, D.C.

A study released by the U.S. Geological Survey on Wednesday estimates that at least 45% of U.S. tap water could be contaminated with at least one form of PFAS, which could have harmful health effects.

'Forever chemicals' could be in nearly half of U.S. tap water, a federal study finds

2:57pm July 06, 2023

by Rachel Treisman

A new government study estimates that at least 45% of the nation's tap water could be contaminated with one or more forms of PFAS. Here's what to do if you're worried about what's in your faucet.