MEET LILY HANSON
An 18-year-old senior at Linganore High School, Lily loves to play the flute for her school's marching band, is an editor for her school's newspaper, The Lance, and is looking to possibly pursue journalism in college.
One look at her, and you would never guess that she and the rest of the student body at Linganore is going without drinking water, all because of one threat:
PFAS.
BECAUSE OF PFAS...
Linganore High School has shut off its water since August 2024 and has resorted to water coolers to provide water to its school community.
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, is now being addressed as an emerging contaminant that can cause developmental, reproductive, and immune issues when consumed by children. It has even been shown to increase the risk of cancers.
With the EPA only recently mandating public water systems to begin testing for PFAS, the state of Maryland is racing to meet its 2029 deadline to test and implement remediation plans for areas facing heightened PFAS levels in their water. According to Lily, however, the Linganore community may not even want to give back its water coolers, as students have said the water usually tastes so bad they do not drink it in the first place. Advocates across the nation are pushing Filter First laws to start treating emerging contaminants locally, but communities still remain in the dark about the dangers flowing in their faucets or wells. Whether it is by fixing the problem at the source or putting in filters across the school, learn how Linganore High School is responding to the shutoff and the solutions they have to treat this ongoing issue that has been putting students and faculty at risk for decades.
HEAR FROM EXPERTS AND LINGANORE'S LEADERSHIP
Silvia Foster-Frau, National Investigative Reporter for the Washington Post
I found this way of looking at America and these sort of silent killers really important because people don't realize that the basic water they are drinking that is so healthy for you usually, can be so deadly.
Michael Dillman, Ph.D., Principal at Linganore High School
Within a 48-hour time frame of me knowing there was an impending issue to delivering that to our community, a lot happened.
Professor Danmeng Shuai, Environmental Engineer at the George Washington University
WE NEED TO REALLY CARE ABOUT OUR WATER SYSTEMS ... ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE PEOPLE [IN RURAL AREAS], I HIGHLY SUGGEST PEOPLE PAY ATTENTION TO THEIR WATER QUALITY.
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A Podcast and Multimedia Story
All photos, writing, research, interviews, and production by Avril Silva