BALTIMORE – U. S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Baltimore City Department of Public Works  (DPW) Director Rudolph Chow today toured the Ashburton Water Filtration Plant and discussed the many ways that elected officials at all levels are working to ensure that all Marylanders have access to safe, lead-free drinking water.   

“Americans have a right to expect that water coming from their taps is safe to drink. We can no longer delay needed upgrades to our infrastructure, strengthening drinking water protections and forever getting lead and other contaminants out of public water supplies,” said Senator Cardin, a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “We urgently need to minimize the risks to our communities and our children. Urban, rural and suburban neighborhoods – in every community in America – all rely on safe, clean water. Our health and our livelihoods will continue to be in danger if we do not act swiftly and decisively.”

“No community should be shortchanged when it comes to the responsibilities of the local, state and federal governments to ensure clean drinking water,” said Mayor Rawlings-Blake. “As the President of the United States Conference of Mayors, I – and my fellow mayors of both parties – have advocated for federal infrastructure investment. When you look at the water issues facing our cities, whether in Flint, Mich., or here in Baltimore, a root cause is money not being there to refurbish and replace old infrastructure years ago. This must change. Both parties need to come together now, today, to provide funds to expedite this important work.”

Senator Cardin recently introduced a package of legislation that responds to the nationwide crisis of unsafe drinking water, crumbling infrastructure and inadequate water protection that has combined to poison residents of Flint, Mich., and communities throughout the country.

“Clean water is one of the most basic foundations of our daily lives – we ignore its safe storage and delivery at our own peril. Unfortunately, for too long we have overlooked the need to invest in this key aspect of our future, and children in communities like Flint are the ones being made to suffer most,” said Senator Cardin. “We can and must immediately do more as a country to better protect our waters and our kids, and these bills will help us do exactly that.”  

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