Wellness Web Site Steps Forward on D.C. Drinking Water Crisis

Wellness Web Site Helps Establish Program for D.C. Residentst to Protect Themselves from Toxic Water.

Washington, DC March 1, 2004 -- As city council members scramble to set hearings and get to the bottom of D.C.'s toxic lead drinking water problem, the residents remain in the dark about just how severe the problem may be. This week, the Health Department finally began recommending that pregnant women, and residents with small children filter their water for health and safety reasons.

Considering that this problem existed at least a year before residents were informed, and that residents are only now being warned to filter their water, residents question just how much they can depend on the government to be candid and timely with information. "We don't know what to think when we get information from the water authority, said one resident. They waited a whole year to tell us our water had lead in it, and now they are finally telling us it is unsafe for us."

One local health and wellness information web site is recommending that residents not wait for the outcome of government action to protect themselves. Choosefitness.com, a health and wellness web portal operated out of Maryland announced a special program which allows D.C. residents to purchase high quality water filters at a discount to deal with the lead water problem.

"When we first heard about the drinking water problem in D.C., we knew it was severe, because government is always slow to act on these issues", said Glenn Garnes, the president of Choosefitness.com. "We don't sell water filters, but we have contacts with retailers, so we began contacting them, until we found one who was willing to offer D.C. residents discounts to get them through this crisis", Garnes, explained.

Ameripure Technologies, a company based out of Woburn, Massachusetts, has agreed to make one of its best filter systems available at a discount to D.C. residents. "When Choosefitness.com contacted us and explained what was going on, we were happy to put this program together", explained John Krowiak, president of Ameripure. We are offering this system at the lowest price the manufacture will allow us to advertise it at, so D.C. residents can get some relief.

The Water and Sewer Authority has announced that it will make filter available to about 10,000 residents affected by the crisis, but Garnes was skeptical about the quality, and what remaining residents are supposed to do. "Fool me once shame on you; fool me twice shame on me", commented Garnes. "If I was a D.C. resident, I wouldn't depend on the government to choose the best filter to protect my family", said Garnes. "They've already shown a lack of accountability by waiting a year to tell the residents about the problem", he noted.

D.C. residents interested in taking advantage of the program can call Ameripure at (877) 281-1967. All they have to do is tell customer service they are a D.C. resident, and as long as the system is shipped to a D.C. address, they are eligible for the discount.

For more information on the importance of filtered drinking water, community members can visit www.choosefitness.com, where the topic is covered in detail.

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