Whatever the cause of the residents’ symptoms, it’s worth taking a moment to consider why water utilities monitor for arsenic in drinking water. Arsenic is tasteless and odorless, and occurs naturally in the Earth’s soils, rocks and minerals. It’s also used in industry as a wood preservative, in paints, metals, drugs and for a variety of other purposes. It is lethal in very high doses. You can learn more in the AWWA book Plain Talk about Drinking Water.

In a fascinating New York Times article, the detailed work that goes into maintaining New York City's underground infrastructure for electricity, telecommunications, drinking water, steam, natural gas and wastewater is described.

A few days ago The New York Times published an article about Los Angeles redoing its alleys to capture stormwater.

In a very well illustrated recent article, The New York Times explored how New York City's water gets from its source to the tap for 9.5 million people.