The Guardian

The US is in a water crisis far worse than most people imagine | Erin Brockovich

Industrial runoff and lax standards have tainted water across the US. Senators and doctors are calling me, asking what to do
A sample of tap water taken in Flint, Michigan. Photograph: Garrett MacLean/The Guardian

When I was a little girl, my father would sing songs to me all the time about water. Sometimes, we would be playing down at the creeks and he would make up little tunes: “See that lovely water, trickling down the stream, don’t take it for granted, someday it might not be seen.”

My dad worked for many years as an engineer for Texaco and later for the Department of Transportation. Before he died, he told me that in my lifetime water would become a commodity more valuable than oil or gold, because there would be so little of it. Sadly, I believe he was right.

Our water has become

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