Water Safety in the Richest Country in the World

In 2019, EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler bragged that in the U.S., 92% of all drinking water met safety standards. What Wheeler could have said is that 8% of the water in America is not safe to drink. If 8% of Americans drank that water, 26 million people would be at risk.

To put that number in perspective, 97% of American adults have a cell phone. Tech companies have found a way to put a supercomputer in our pockets, yet the U.S. government cannot ensure safe drinking water for our entire population.

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American Adults Who Own a Cell Phone vs. Share of Drinking Water in the U.S. That Meets EPA Standards

Cell phone statistics from 2021, clean water from 2019

Sources: Pew Research Center, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler via CBS News interview.