Wed. May 31 at 9pm on WKAR-HD 23.1 | Discover the chemistry and engineering behind the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, and other U.S. cities.
Water. Turn on the faucet and it’s always there. Without it we perish. But how safe is our tap water? In this special report, NOVA investigates what happened in Flint, Michigan when local officials changed the city’s water source to save money, but overlooked a critical treatment process. As the water pipes corroded, lead leached into the system, exposing the community—including thousands of children—to dangerous levels of poison.
NOVA uncovers the science behind this manmade disaster— from the intricacies of water chemistry, to the biology of lead poisoning, to the misuse of science itself. NOVA follows ordinary citizens and independent scientists who exposed the danger lurking in Flint’s water and confronted those who turned a blind eye. Still, there’s a disturbing truth that reaches far beyond Flint—Water systems across the country are vulnerable to a similar fate. How can we protect ourselves from poisoned water?
The conversation and Q&A from the special preview screening of Poisoned Water is available at the WKAR Facebook page.
About NOVA
Now in its 44th season, NOVA is the most-watched primetime science series on American television, reaching an average of five million viewers weekly. The series remains committed to producing in-depth science programming in the form of hour-long (and occasionally longer) documentaries, from the latest breakthroughs in technology to the deepest mysteries of the natural world. NOVA is a production of WGBH Boston. NOVA airs Wednesdays at 9pm ET/PT on WGBH Boston and most PBS stations. The director of the WGBH Science Unit and senior executive producer of NOVA is Paula S. Apsell.