Even though California received almost no rain in January, which is normally the wettest month of the year, the state is allowing oil companies to dump waste-filled and chemically dangerous water into underground drinkable water sources. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, California regulators have been giving oil companies permission to do this for longer than honestly stated.

Specifically, the Chronicle found that  the oil industry  drilled 171 wastewater injection wells into clean aquifers, and 253 wastewater wells into aquifers that were salty but potentially usable with treatment. This was all with state permission, of course.

According to the post by Emily Atkin on February 1nd, 2015, “Waste water from oil and gas drilling can contain chemicals like arsenic and benzene, heavy metals, and radioactive material.”

Conservationists are now calling on California to shut down injection wells.

tThere is no evidence that people have been drinking water contaminated by these injections, but California state officials told the Chronicle that tests of nearby drinking-water wells have so far showed no contamination. The surrounding area of millions of people  could be affected by pollution.

According to the Chronicle, the federal Environmental Protection Agency is threatening to seize control of regulating the wells. The state has until Feb. 6 to tell the EPA how it plans to handle this situation.

It is becoming increasingly known in our world today that water is no longer safe to drink without first targeting the many chemicals and toxins present, and then using an effective filtration system to remove most, if not all, contaminants.