In an ongoing series about water quality (or lack thereof) in the United States, the NY Times has an interactive feature where you can check your community’s water quality compared to others. The verdict: Buffalo has pretty fantastic water. Except for that one time with the cyanide.
Although water tested locally found 15 contaminants over the years, the levels recorded are all far below the EPA guidelines, and also significantly below the stricter recommended health guidelines. The one blip comes from 2006, when an elevated cyanide reading occurred exceeding the limits, but has not reappeared since. Is this a health concern? Yes, of course. Is it an ongoing issue? It apears not. Score one for Buffalo.
Having toured the Colonel Ward Pumping Station and water treatment facilities, I know that the designers of the Buffalo water system placed the intake (that red building in the middle of the lake) in a self-cleaning channel leading to the mouth of the Niagara river. This means we get essentially the cleanest possible drinking water from the lake, even before the sanitizing, filtering and fluoridating.
Where other communities across the nation have water systems plagued by pesticides, chemicals and contaminants, we luck out. Instead of having to draw murky liquids from the water table, or from a river that shares excessive industrial runoff, we’re located next to one of the largest sources of fresh water in the entire world. While I’ll leave it to Corey to address issues with the management of the Buffalo water system, just remember: we’re lucky to live near a great source of water… even if it helps create kooky snowstorms.
Buffalo Water Authority Water System – Toxic Waters – The New York Times.
