Water is crucial to us; Potential contamination sources grow more numerous every day and the risk to our safety and health are no longer something we can ignore. I think it would be wise for every community to work with their local utility and form a Water Consumer Awareness Board.

Realize that each and every day water treatment plants are required to run quality tests and record the results into their performance log. My experience tells me that most utilities are very trustworthy and responsible, but as we just saw in Flint, Michigan, some vital data can get lost along the way.

Whether the situation in Flint happened because the years of daily routine in water testing caused a lull in care when the water source was changed, or because of cost concerns and possible wrong doings to hide information, it really doesn’t matter. Water is too vital to us and it is far too dangerous a substance to not be handled properly.

It is time for citizens to form voluntary policing boards and monitor the daily performance of our water supplies.