2022年经济学人 密歇根水污染，人们只能喝瓶装水(2)（在线收听）

Things moved quickly.

事情进展很快。

Michigan's governor, Gretchen Whitmer, has secured more than half of the $30m needed to replace all Benton's lead lines.

密歇根州州长格雷琴·惠特默已经获得了更换本顿所有水管所需3000万美元资金的一半以上。

And she has called on the state legislature to allocate $11.4m from the American Rescue Plan, the stimulus package passed in March.

她还呼吁州立法机关从3月份通过的刺激计划中拨款1140万美元。

But other cash-strapped towns must vie for limited funding.

但其他资金短缺的城镇必须争夺有限的资金。

Even low levels of lead in children can result in behavioural problems, lower IQ and anaemia.

即使儿童体内的铅含量很低，也会导致行为问题、智商下降和贫血。

In pregnant women, it can induce premature birth and reduced fetal growth, and in adults more generally it can decrease kidney function and cause reproductive problems.

在孕妇中，它会导致早产和胎儿发育减缓，而在成年人中，更普遍的是，它会降低肾功能并导致生殖问题。

The EPA allocates roughly $1bn a year to supporting water-infrastructure projects, including lead-pipe replacements, through grants and loans.

环境保护署通过政府津贴和贷款，每年约有10亿美元用于支持水基础设施项目，包括更换铅管。

Poorer places may struggle to repay even low-interest loans, however.

然而，即使是低息贷款，贫困地区可能都难以偿还。

A lack of robust testing means that several communities are likely to be unaware of the level of lead in their water.

缺乏可靠的测试意味着一些社区可能不知道水中的铅含量。

Hence the importance of the money promised by the Biden administration.

因此，拜登政府承诺的资金至关重要。

The bipartisan infrastructure bill sets aside $15bn for lead-pipe replacements.

两党共同制定的《基建法案》拨出150亿美元用于更换含铅水管。

The $1.7trn Build Back Better bill, still stuck in the Senate, could provide nearly $10bn on top of that, for pipe replacements and mitigation tactics such as filters aimed at schools.

这项耗资1.7万亿美元，仍停留在参议院的《重建法案》，除此之外，还可能提供近100亿美元，用于管道更换和针对学校的过滤器等缓解策略。

Though not as much as originally promised, the money will go a long way towards tackling the problem.

虽然没有最初承诺的那么多，但这笔钱将大大有助于解决这个问题。

Because Benton Harbor does not need to depend on this money, it is luckier than many communities left hoping for federal funds.

因为本顿港不需要依赖这笔钱，它比许多希望得到联邦资金的社区更幸运。

The town should have clean water before long. In the meantime, its residents will remain wary.

这个城镇不久就会有干净的水了。与此同时，其居民仍将保持警惕。

Every day, Mr Pinkney drives a U-Haul truck through town to pass out water bottles with some of his two dozen volunteers.

平克尼先生每天都开着一辆U型运货卡车穿过小镇，和他的24名志愿者中的一些人一起分发瓶装水。

Long before the state ramped up its efforts, he distrusted the water supply.

早在国家加大力度之前，他就不信任供水。

"It wasn't the right colour," he grimaces.

他做了苦脸说：“颜色不对。”

He has not drunk from his tap for nearly a decade.

他近十年没有喝自来水了。

Mr Pinkney blames the city and state governments for not doing more to fix the city's lead problems, citing years of mismanagement and environmental racism.

平克尼先生指责市和州政府没有采取更多措施来解决该市的铅污染问题，列举了多年来的管理不善和环境种族主义。

The pipes should have been replaced three years ago, he says, as soon as testing showed the town to be falling foul of federal standards.

他说，三年前，在测试表明该镇不符合联邦标准时，这些管道就应该换了。

That's why they had to petition, he says: "It got people moving that never would have moved before."

这就是他们不得不请愿的原因，他说：“这让以前永远不可能搬家的人都搬走了。”