The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recommended that the city of Galesburg offer residents bottled water or filters after tap water there tested for high levels of lead.
Lead poisoning can affect physical and mental development and is especially dangerous to children. The news of the EPA intervention has prompted comparisons to the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. But a reporter covering the issue in Galesburg says the problems facing the two cities are not the same.
NPR Illinois reporter Jamey Dunn talked with Galesburg Register-Mail political reporter Marty Hobe about the situation.
You can read some of The Register-Mail's coverage of the issue here.
If you live in Galesburg, you can look up your residence to see if you have a lead water service line here.
You can find out more about lead on the US EPA's website.
