On Tuesday the Environmental Working Group, or (EWG), spoke exclusively with InstantRiverside.com about weekend report they released on national water quality. It ranked Riverside as the second-worst water in the nation.
In a phone interview with the researcher behind the study, it was difficult to understand how Riverside had achieved such a dubious ranking.
Click here to watch the video report with Nneka Leiba, of Environmental Working Group. She says she stands by her work, even though the findings are in wide-dispute locally. In the midst of her interview with InstantRiverside.com she abruptly ended the discussion; claiming an emergency. Also on Tuesday, water-quality links on their website were disabled, and their water-quality report was difficult to find.
Shortly after the end of EWG’s discussion with InstantRiverside.com, the group issued the following statement:
WASHINGTON, DC– Environmental Working Group (EWG) would like to expand on the methodology and results of its recent national tap water quality report.
We appreciate the great interest that the study has generated, which confirms our belief that people are concerned about the quality of their tap water.
• All of the data included in the study came directly from the state agencies responsible for drinking water, which obtained the data directly from utilities or
state laboratories.
• Prior to the release of the report, EWG worked with the national water utility trade association, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) to provide the utilities represented in the study an opportunity to review and revise the data prior to its
release. Many utilities responded, assisting EWG in making adjustments to the state data as needed.
• Since the release of the report this past Saturday, not a single municipal water utility has contacted EWG with data corrections. EWG researchers continue to welcome utilities’ comments and we will revise the results whenever valid data are
provided to us.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
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