No one paid much attention to the plight of residents in a small town in coal country Kentucky suffering from no running water or fouled water that caused rashes or over a number of years cancer. But when the local and regional press stepped up to cover the story and lend support to protesting local residents, the water district was forced to seek adequate financing and fix the disintegrating infrastructure. (The Ground Truth Project, April 10, 2018, by Will Wright)
The Martin County crisis and the Flint, Michigan lead crisis have resulted in increased coverage of water problems in other communities in the U.S. A recent study showed that while there are few health violations reported each year, there are no procedures for inspection of water systems performing poorly. The Southwest is particularly plagued with recurring violations indicating serious underlying problems. (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, February 12, 2018, by Maura Allaire, Haowei Wu and Upmanu Lall)