The scandal that was uncovered by The Washington Post in January 2004 regarding the lead contamination of Washington, D.C. drinking water prompted the newspaper to investigate other water utilities around the nation. According to an October 5, 2004 article in The Washington Post , dozens of public water utilities, including those in Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City have routinely manipulated, hidden, or discarded test results in order to demonstrate lead levels below the federal safety standard.

Moreover, the newspaper reports that lax enforcement of regulations and oversight by state and federal government officials allowed local agencies to ignore requirements to correct lead problems in the drinking water. In response to the report, two U.S. senators called for the inspector general of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to investigate federal rules and regulations and the level of enforcement regarding the safety of the nation's drinking water.

Meanwhile, Washington, D.C. officials have attempted to allay the public furor over the elevated lead level issue through public outreach efforts. In August, the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority (WASA), the Washington Aqueduct, and the D.C. Department of Health sent an explanatory letter to residents and organized community meetings. Nevertheless, the city still continues to face problems. In September, city officials and EPA announced that the bacteria levels in the D.C. tap water exceeded federal health standards.

The elevated bacteria levels are suspected to have resulted from the chemical used to treat the lead-contaminated water. Although health officials claimed that the bacteria were not harmful to most of the population, the findings underscored the difficulties in tackling the drinking water problem.

For more information and updates, regarding actions taken by D.C. WASA, please visit www.dcwasa.com.