Articles by Steven Gilchrist

According to the United States Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, there are approximately 1.6 million Americans living in housing units that do not have “complete plumbing facilities.”   The definition for a lack of complete plumbing facilities can range from not having a bathtub or shower, a working flush toilet, or running hot and cold water.   In a March 22, 2018 Los Angeles Times Op-Ed, George McGraw explains that having a lack of access for complete plumbing facilities is an invisible crisis for over 1 million Americans.   McGraw, who is the founder of the nonprofit organization Dig Deep, writes: “Impoverished rural communities in Appalachia face water-borne diseases at rates rarely seen in developed nations.   Even here in California more than 1 million people rely on public drinking water systems that have violated state safety standards, threatening their health. The invisible crisis for Americans who lack complete access to modern plumbing s...

On August 14, 2014 Flint, Michigan announced that bacteria had been detected in the city’s drinking water supply.   The detection of bacteria had prompted the city to declare a boil water advisory to residents living on the west side of Flint.   Earlier in the year, on April 25, 2014, Flint changed the source of its water supply.   Previously, Flint received its drinking water from Lake Huron and the Detroit River and in 2014 the city switched its supply to the Flint River.   The city’s water supply change was supposed to be a temporary fix.   The city went to the Flint River as its main water source while a new pipeline would be constructed to supply water from Lake Huron to Flint.   Shortly after changing the water supply to the Flint River, residents began reporting that drinking water looked contaminated.   The Detroit River had supplied the city of Flint with quality drinking water for almost 50 years.   After the city changed its ...