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NEWARK — Donnette Goodluck tried all day to pick up the free bottled water the city was distributing as officials addressed a growing lead contamination crisis.
When she first arrived at Boylan Street Recreation Center last Tuesday at 10:30 a.m., the line wrapped around the block; Ms. Goodluck and others were told to come back at 1 p.m. At 1 p.m., she was instructed to come back two hours later. Uncertain she could find a neighbor to watch the six children she babysits, she gave up.
“Two free cases to do everything — to drink, to cook. It won’t last me that long but it’s not cheap for me to keep buying water myself,” said Ms. Goodluck, 52.
On Ms. Goodluck’s stretch of Norwood Street in the city’s West Ward section, residents say the water crisis now gripping Newark began long before officials agreed to distribute free bottled water last week. The city’s stopgap measure was taken in response to a scathing letter from the E.P.A. released on Aug. 9, which found dangerously high lead levels in sections of the city’s water supply.
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See Also:
(1) Newark lead crisis is a wakeup call
(2) Tainted Water, Ignored Warnings and a Boss With a Criminal Past
(3) Here’s why Newark’s lead crisis is different
(4) Concerns of lead crisis grow, as multiple cities in the U.S. deal with elevated levels
(5) Doctors, parents warned of risks to children from low-level lead exposure
