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Putting Philly tap water to the (taste) test; Bucks County homes confront water crisis | Morning Newsletter

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Barry Hosten (left), Brewery manager at Flying Fish Brewing Company and Beth MacKenzie (right), water sommelier and certified brew master, participate in a water taste test at the Philadelphia Inquirer building on May 21, 2019.
Barry Hosten (left), Brewery manager at Flying Fish Brewing Company and Beth MacKenzie (right), water sommelier and certified brew master, participate in a water taste test at the Philadelphia Inquirer building on May 21, 2019.Read moreDAVID SWANSON / Staff Photographer

    The Morning Newsletter

    Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter

Drinking water is a hot button topic in Philly. The water that comes out of Philly taps doesn’t have the best reputation, but is it fair to look down on it? We decided to pit Philly tap water against water from nearby big cities and bottled water in an expert taste test. Meanwhile, Bucks County residents are thirsty for answers about why their tap water is contaminated with a toxic compound that could be threatening more homes than we realize nationwide.

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— Ray Boyd (@RayBoydDigital, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

Public opinion has become a black eye on the Philadelphia Water Department. Nearly 40 percent of Philly residents drink bottled water over tap because they believe there is something wrong with the water, or think it just doesn’t taste good. So, we decided to put it to the test.

The Inquirer’s first-ever water taste test pitted Philly tap water against a sip of New York, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Aquafina, Deer Park and the cheapest dollar-store brand bottled water we could find.

We brought in expert palates including a water sommelier, a bakery owner, and a brewery manager to judge the water. The rock-bottom water was a unanimous choice and the water that our experts agreed was the best of the bunch took us all by surprise.

PFAS is a toxic compound found in nonstick cookware and other everyday items. But it has contaminated the water of several Bucks County homes, leaving families thirsty for a solution.

A dozen homes in West Rockhill Township and neighboring East Rockhill are dealing with the contamination. But this situation is not linked to the contamination caused by the military which impacts families just 25 miles away. It’s even different from another section of Bucks County where families remain on military-provided bottled water.

Because the contamination for these 12 homes is not linked to military bases, the state has to deal with it by providing bottled water — a solution that has left families dissatisfied. The nation is now confronting PFAS as a growing crisis, leaving many to wonder: How many other Americans could be unknowingly drinking PFAS-tainted water?

What you need to know today

  1. Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders plans to rally this afternoon at Philadelphia’s Hahnemann University Hospital. Sanders plans to voice his opposition to the hospital’s closure while touting his “Medicare for All” plan.

  2. Meanwhile, President Trump revealed a plan for deportation raids in major American cities this past Sunday. However, there were few reported arrests. Nevertheless, immigration rights advocates in Philly vow to stay vigilant.

  3. Neighbors want to know why police in Philly’s Overbrook section weren’t more vigilant on Saturday. Seven people were shot during a community cookout and basketball tournament, and residents want to know why officers were not assigned to the event.

  4. Slot machines, roulette wheels and blackjack tables will be at the fingertips of virtually all Pennsylvanians this week.

Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly

You can never start them too young. Thanks for sharing, @yellaphant.

Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and we’ll pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout out!

That’s Interesting

  1. If you’ve walked around Philly recently and spotted a flautist on the street that looked a lot like André 3000, it turns out you weren’t seeing things.

  2. Summertime can feel like a sidewalk feeding frenzy for women subjected to catcalling. Do the crude comments make you feel helpless? In Philly, there’s now a training program for that.

  3. The Phillies held a ceremony over the weekend to honor the retirement of Ryan Howard. The all-time Phillies great thanked scouts, teammates, coaches, managers, and of course the fans. But there’s also something he urged fans to stop doing.

  4. South Jersey restaurants might want to stop doing what one consumer is alleging a TGI Fridays did to charge higher prices. A glass of beer turned into a class action lawsuit.

  5. The historic Provident Mutual Life building in West Philly was slated to be the next police headquarters, but that plan fell through. Now, it’s destined to become a public-health campus — a plan that beat out several ideas including one involving Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins.

Opinions

“It can be hard to recognize genuine threats when they arise. But the President’s behavior is dangerous to Americans of all parties. Not only does he act as if laws are inconvenient obstacles to be ignored on a whim, but he continues to lie about the Russian threat – all while blocking his own administration’s efforts to deal with that threat.” — Representative Madeleine Dean writes that it’s time for an impeachment inquiry in regards to President Trump.

  1. Columnist Will Bunch likens presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren’s relationship with the left to a romantic comedy. He writes that her weekend appearance in Philly proved the on-again-off-again love affair is on — for now.

  2. Tax incentives in Camden should be used to foster economic development, writes economist Joel Naroff. But clear plans on how those incentives impact the local economy and growth are needed.

What we’re reading

  1. After earthquakes rocked southern California last week, The Guardian spoke with several earthquake scientists to see what they would do if the “big one” strikes. If you have a jacuzzi, you might not look at it the same way after reading this.

  2. Down south, Americans dealt with Tropical Storm Barry as it made landfall over the weekend. NOLA.com shared a series of fascinating images showing how Louisiana residents prepared for the impact.

  3. A long-closed Philadelphia pool left a lasting impact on many lives in Fishtown. Newt’s swim spot was a community hub and Billy Penn highlights the memories that define it to this day.

A Daily Dose of | Stones

Kurt Steiner is one of the greatest stone skippers who has ever lived. The Pennsylvania “mountain man” might have some intense skips. But in them, he finds peace.