美国国家公共电台 NPR Kentucky Community Hopes Trump Infrastructure Plan Will Fix Water System

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And let's talk about another issue that has been on President Trump's agenda. He's been promising¹ to invest in infrastructure². And many hope that includes pipes for drinking water. A group of civil engineers last week gave the country's water system a near-failing grade. In eastern Kentucky, Benny Becker from station WMMT looks at one community that no longer trusts what comes out of its taps.

BENNY BECKER, BYLINE³: I went to a supermarket in Martin County and asked the checkout⁴ clerk how many customers buy bottled water.

UNIDENTIFIED GROCERY CLERK: I'd say 75 percent, if not more.

BECKER: Martin County resident Josie Delong says she does all she can to avoid drinking from the tap.

JOSIE DELONG: I even put a bottle of water in my kids' bathroom when they brush their teeth.

BECKER: Delong says she used to drink tap water until a doctor told her it could be the cause for her health issues.

DELONG: I had really, really bad bleeding ulcers⁵, to the point where I was actually blacking out. So I go to my doctor. The first thing he tells me is contaminated water. How's your drinking water?

BECKER: There are a lot of problems with Martin County's drinking water. The water intake⁶ pulls from a river that's heavily contaminated by sewage and by years of coal and gas extraction. The treatment plant needs serious upgrades, and the distribution pipes are so leaky that they lose more water than they deliver. On cold winter nights, when customers leave their taps running to keep their pipes from freezing, the water system just can't keep up. Here's Joe Hammond of the water district.

JOE HAMMOND: At night, they would shut it down so they could keep the tanks full for schools.

BECKER: If they don't cut the water off, the tanks wouldn't refill, and there wouldn't even be enough water to flush toilets, so school would have to be canceled. But when the water is cut off, there's no pressure in the pipes, so filth⁷ can seep⁸ in through cracks. When the system turns back on...

(SOUNDBITE OF FAUCET⁹ GURGLING)

BECKER: ...The water can be brown or black and very smelly.

At a public meeting last year, Joe Hammond had to face a crowd that was really angry that the cutoffs had happened and that the public wasn't warned.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

HAMMOND: The areas that are affected¹⁰, you should get a phone call. Marcy (ph), the office manager down there...

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I'll cut you off right here. Not nobody around town got the first call about a boiled water advisory¹¹. I'm done with it. It was a lie.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOOR SLAMMING)

BECKER: The Martin County Water District is under state investigation¹² for the third time since 2002. When they find a leaky pipe, Hammond says all they can do is patch it up.

HAMMOND: You got a little hole there already, it's going to get bigger. We just don't have the money to replace it with right now.

BECKER: Martin County has produced millions of dollars in coal and gas, but little of that wealth got invested into the water system. As the local coal industry has continued to decline, it's only gotten harder to find money to invest in infrastructure.

Gail Brion of the University of Kentucky has worked on water treatment for decades, including a stint¹³ at the Environmental Protection Agency.

GAIL BRION: These water systems were established with federal money. That money has now become a revolving¹⁴ fund that has to be paid back. And when you can't pay for your services to begin with, how are you going to pay back a loan to make those services better?

BECKER: Scott Pruitt, the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency, says water infrastructure is a priority. But Brion is skeptical¹⁵. She worries water pipes can't compete with more visible projects like roads and bridges.

BRION: What you're seeing is a long history of non-investment that's now starting to cause long-term problems. But it's not flashy. That's one of the problems with drinking water is that it's underground. It's hidden.

BECKER: State and local water officials say they'll be looking out for any federal spending that could help them rebuild trust in the county's tap water. For NPR News, I'm Benny Becker in Whitesburg, Ky.

(SOUNDBITE OF DIIV AND ZACHARY COLE SMITH'S "BENT¹⁶ (ROI'S SONG)")

GREENE: And Benny's story came to us from the public radio reporting collaborative Ohio Valley Resource.

(SOUNDBITE OF DIIV AND ZACHARY COLE SMITH'S "BENT - ROI'S SONG")

1 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

2 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 checkout   

n.（超市等）收银台，付款处

参考例句：

• Could you pay at the checkout.你能在结帐处付款吗。
• A man was wheeling his shopping trolley to the checkout.一个男人正推着购物车向付款台走去。

5 ulcers   

n.溃疡( ulcer的名词复数 )；腐烂物；道德败坏；腐败

参考例句：

• Detachment of the dead cells produces erosions and ulcers. 死亡细胞的脱落，产生糜烂和溃疡。 来自辞典例句
• 75% of postbulbar ulcers occur proximal to the duodenal papilla. 75％的球后溃疡发生在十二指肠乳头近侧。 来自辞典例句

6 intake   

n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口

参考例句：

• Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
• There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。

7 filth   

n.肮脏，污物，污秽；淫猥

参考例句：

• I don't know how you can read such filth.我不明白你怎么会去读这种淫秽下流的东西。
• The dialogue was all filth and innuendo.这段对话全是下流的言辞和影射。

8 seep   

v.渗出，渗漏；n.渗漏，小泉，水（油）坑

参考例句：

• My anger began to seep away.我的怒火开始消下去了。
• If meteoric water does not evaporate or run overland,it may seep directly into the ground.如果雨水不从陆地蒸发和流走的话，就可能直接渗入地下。

9 faucet   

n.水龙头

参考例句：

• The faucet has developed a drip.那个水龙头已经开始滴水了。
• She turned off the faucet and dried her hands.她关掉水龙头，把手擦干。

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

11 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

12 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

13 stint   

v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事

参考例句：

• He lavished money on his children without stint.他在孩子们身上花钱毫不吝惜。
• We hope that you will not stint your criticism.我们希望您不吝指教。

14 revolving   

adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想

参考例句：

• The theatre has a revolving stage. 剧院有一个旋转舞台。
• The company became a revolving-door workplace. 这家公司成了工作的中转站。

15 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

16 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。