Invite Erin Brockovich to Investigate Tyler's Water Quality Issues
Invite Erin Brockovich to Investigate Tyler's Water Quality Issues
The Issue
My name is Erin Wheeler, and I am a resident of Tyler, Texas. In August, I was diagnosed with a rare tumor. As I began researching my condition, I discovered that the cancer prevalence in our city is extraordinarily high per capita - not just cancers but also noncancerous growths, cysts and lumps.
This alarming discovery led me on a mission to investigate possible environmental causes. And eventually, that lead me to look into our municipal water supply, where I found the source of our poor health outcomes and various medical conditions.
Most notably, we have a problem with THM - Trihalomethane. It’s a group of disinfection byproducts which result from the liberal and unorthodox use of chloramine and free chlorine early in the treatment process, compounded by several EPA-citation offenses under the SDWA (safe drinking water act) and CWA (clean water act). The SDWA was a citation on the Lake Palestine Water Treatment Plant, the main source of these bad practices. It was noted that they had been found falsifying bench-sheets with whiteout and using excel documents to log water test results, which, as the EPA agent noted, could be easily changed at any time without anyone knowing about it.
After that, there was a citation under the CWA in 2017 and 2023 for The City of Tyler, as the city was found to be repeatedly dumping raw sewage in Lake Palestine, and the case escalated to a Federal level after they continued to violate this act even after the EPA had cited and fined them for it on multiple occasions. The City of Tyler were fined in excess of $500,000 on both occasions, one of these citation occurring this year. We as water consumers are now paying off the City’s fine through what the City calls “pass through fee” which show up as inflated fees on our monthly water bills.
The liberal and inappropriate use of free chlorine and chloramine (chlorine + ammonia) and their continued practice of the controversial water treatment protocol known as chlorine burnout, combined with the organic carbon matter and additional nitrogen compounds that they’re adding to our raw water by dumping sewage into the lake, we have a recipe for disaster. After independently testing the tap water through Simple Lab for 137 different analytes, I have determined that the cause of our problems are disinfection byproducts, specifically THM.
The City has attempted to discredit me, claiming they are within regulatory limits. But those regulations were put in place before it was understood that trihalomethane is more genotoxic when inhaled via steam. The EPA and the Manitoba Water Board have both released warnings in recent years saying that a 10 minute hot shower in water with high TTHMs is equivalent to drinking 2.5 liters of that water. And most of us take a 10 minute shower everyday. That’s how it is adding up to cancer so quickly - especially when you consider that our TTHMs are 287% higher than Texas Utility Averages, and TTHM is 100% higher than the US Utility averages. Those percentages are mirrored in our cancer prevalence and our various noncancerous mutagenic conditions.
Our community has been adversely affected by disinfection byproducts in our municipal water supply due to poor practices at the local water treatment plant. The situation has become so severe that it has attracted the attention of renowned environmental activist Erin Brockovich in the past.
Today, we are calling for her return. We need her expertise and advocacy to help us create lasting change for our community's health and safety.
This petition was created by me, Erin Wheeler, founder of the brand new 501c3 research initiative called TRUTHH Corp., in conjunction with ETX Water Watch team who are at the crux of our efforts. Most of those who live under this water supply share our concerns about Tyler's water quality issues.
The city officials have responded with threats, harassment, and censorship when we raised these concerns about Tyler’s tap water quality. But we will not be silenced; instead, we are more determined than ever to fight for clean drinking water for all residents of Tyler.
Please sign this petition if you believe that everyone deserves access to safe drinking water free from harmful disinfection byproducts. Let's bring Erin Brockovich back to Tyler Texas!
_____________________________
Check Out My Research Website:
Tyler Water Investigation
Stay curious. ✊��
376
The Issue
My name is Erin Wheeler, and I am a resident of Tyler, Texas. In August, I was diagnosed with a rare tumor. As I began researching my condition, I discovered that the cancer prevalence in our city is extraordinarily high per capita - not just cancers but also noncancerous growths, cysts and lumps.
This alarming discovery led me on a mission to investigate possible environmental causes. And eventually, that lead me to look into our municipal water supply, where I found the source of our poor health outcomes and various medical conditions.
Most notably, we have a problem with THM - Trihalomethane. It’s a group of disinfection byproducts which result from the liberal and unorthodox use of chloramine and free chlorine early in the treatment process, compounded by several EPA-citation offenses under the SDWA (safe drinking water act) and CWA (clean water act). The SDWA was a citation on the Lake Palestine Water Treatment Plant, the main source of these bad practices. It was noted that they had been found falsifying bench-sheets with whiteout and using excel documents to log water test results, which, as the EPA agent noted, could be easily changed at any time without anyone knowing about it.
After that, there was a citation under the CWA in 2017 and 2023 for The City of Tyler, as the city was found to be repeatedly dumping raw sewage in Lake Palestine, and the case escalated to a Federal level after they continued to violate this act even after the EPA had cited and fined them for it on multiple occasions. The City of Tyler were fined in excess of $500,000 on both occasions, one of these citation occurring this year. We as water consumers are now paying off the City’s fine through what the City calls “pass through fee” which show up as inflated fees on our monthly water bills.
The liberal and inappropriate use of free chlorine and chloramine (chlorine + ammonia) and their continued practice of the controversial water treatment protocol known as chlorine burnout, combined with the organic carbon matter and additional nitrogen compounds that they’re adding to our raw water by dumping sewage into the lake, we have a recipe for disaster. After independently testing the tap water through Simple Lab for 137 different analytes, I have determined that the cause of our problems are disinfection byproducts, specifically THM.
The City has attempted to discredit me, claiming they are within regulatory limits. But those regulations were put in place before it was understood that trihalomethane is more genotoxic when inhaled via steam. The EPA and the Manitoba Water Board have both released warnings in recent years saying that a 10 minute hot shower in water with high TTHMs is equivalent to drinking 2.5 liters of that water. And most of us take a 10 minute shower everyday. That’s how it is adding up to cancer so quickly - especially when you consider that our TTHMs are 287% higher than Texas Utility Averages, and TTHM is 100% higher than the US Utility averages. Those percentages are mirrored in our cancer prevalence and our various noncancerous mutagenic conditions.
Our community has been adversely affected by disinfection byproducts in our municipal water supply due to poor practices at the local water treatment plant. The situation has become so severe that it has attracted the attention of renowned environmental activist Erin Brockovich in the past.
Today, we are calling for her return. We need her expertise and advocacy to help us create lasting change for our community's health and safety.
This petition was created by me, Erin Wheeler, founder of the brand new 501c3 research initiative called TRUTHH Corp., in conjunction with ETX Water Watch team who are at the crux of our efforts. Most of those who live under this water supply share our concerns about Tyler's water quality issues.
The city officials have responded with threats, harassment, and censorship when we raised these concerns about Tyler’s tap water quality. But we will not be silenced; instead, we are more determined than ever to fight for clean drinking water for all residents of Tyler.
Please sign this petition if you believe that everyone deserves access to safe drinking water free from harmful disinfection byproducts. Let's bring Erin Brockovich back to Tyler Texas!
_____________________________
Check Out My Research Website:
Tyler Water Investigation
Stay curious. ✊��
376
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Petition created on December 1, 2023