Water Worries

There’s a major problem with tap water in Newark, New Jersey. Tests show it contains toxic × toxic TUNART/ GETTY IMAGES poisonous (adjective) He ignored the government's advice and didn't wear a mask in the toxic environment. levels of lead. The lead got into the water from a network of old and worn-down pipes. It could take more than two years and $120 million to replace the city’s pipes. In mid-August, Newark began providing bottled water to 15,000 homes.

“This is a slap in the face to the residents of the city,” Donna Jackson, a Newark resident, told a news station. Protesters have demanded that the problem be fixed. City and state officials say they’re working to do so. “Access to clean and safe drinking water is a fundamental × fundamental PGIAM—GETTY IMAGES the most important part of something (adjective) The U.S. Constitution lays out ideas that are fundamental to our government. right,” New Jersey governor Phil Murphy said on August 14.

This isn’t the first time a U.S. city has been impacted by toxic water. The water crisis in Flint, Michigan, began in 2014. It is ongoing.