Lessons from Flint, Sebring

Toledo Blade: The crisis in Flint, Mich., has cities and towns across the country concerned about aging infrastructure that no longer can ensure access to safe, clean drinking water. The village of Sebring is among them.

In Sebring, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency told the village water system to notify 8,100 customers that unsafe levels of lead had been found in the water of several homes and schools. The Jan. 21 order included a health advisory for pregnant women and children.

The dangerous lead levels and Sebring’s failure to alert residents within 60 days of discovering the problem make the situation similar to Flint’s, although on a smaller scale. U.S. Sen Sherrod Brown said the Ohio EPA knew of the problem as early as last August but failed to act, a suggestion the agency has resisted.

Flint and Sebring serve as cautions to operators of all community water systems. Water is the font of life, but only if it is clean.