We Drink It, Bathe In It, Splash It On the Garden

And We Swim In It.

Water, that is. How do we know if the water is safe to swim in? Has it really come to this on our planet? Unfortunately, the answer is “yes.”

Dumping Chemicals in Our Surface Water.

Ann Arbor’s MLive news posted a story where 2,693 pounds of methylene chloride were released into the Kalamazoo River on November 1, 2018. The perpetrator, Pfizer, notified the city seven days later. Not immediately. They waited seven days.

More Dumping.

A PBS special aired on PFAS in our water here in Michigan (preview). The special was both heart-breaking and frightening to see what manufacturers can get away with by simply dumping their unwanted chemicals and then refusing to take responsibility for their actions when people are suffering the consequences of elevated PFAS in their water. We are simply told not to “avoid touching the toxic foam.”

It’s Not Just a Michigan Problem.

The Great Lakes, as beautiful as they are, are contaminated – especially Lake Erie and Lake Ontario – but according to the most recent surveys on national water quality from the US EPA, nearly ½ of our rivers and streams and more than 1/3 of our lakes are polluted and unfit for swimming, fishing, and drinking.

Where to Swim?

At theswimguide.org you can search for the water quality at over 7,000 beaches nationwide. They deliver free real-time water quality information for Canada, the U.S., Mexico, the Bahamas, Ireland, France, New Zealand, and Australia. And along with English, Swim Guide is also available in French and Spanish! Download “Swim Guide” from the App Store or Google Play. Swimming just got a little cleaner!