Frisco’s water supply on tap Tuesday evening at City Hall

Perry Mellone

Frisco has been named the No. 1 safest city in the country for the second year in a row. The study conducted by SmartAsset found that Frisco has the fourth lowest crime and drug poisoning rates in the nation, along with the sixth lowest property crime rate.

The story of Erin Brockovich’s life earned Julia Roberts an Oscar. Now Brockovich has her sights set on the North Texas Municipal Water District with a special report being presented by NTMWD to the Frisco City Council Tuesday at 5 p.m. at city hall.  

In the movie based on her consumer advocacy, Brockovich discovers the cover-up of contaminated water in a local community that was causing residents to fall ill. In recent weeks, she has directed her attention at the NTMWD.

“This isn’t rocket science… this is what we have been saying all along…,” Brockovich said in a Facebook post. “The consumers of NTMWD have been exposed to dangerous levels of trihalomethane through the chlorine burnout period.”

For the past 28 days, the North Texas Municipal Water District has been feeding chlorine into the water system to prepare for the warmer months when bacteria grow more rapidly in the water pipes.

“Water provided by NTMWD is safe and meets all state and federal water guidelines,” Executive Director of NTMWD said in a news release. “The chlorine maintenance process is backed by science and is a proven way to help safeguard public health.”

In the effort to clear up public perception of the issue, the NTMWD created a FAQ page on its site. Meanwhile, Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney wants to clear up any questions.

“Just speaking to our experts here, they say the water is safe,” Cheney said in a Community Impact article. “We just want to make sure that everyone has all their questions answered. There is a lot of misinformation that is out there in the public.”

On campus, students such as senior Neha Baskar have taken their own precautions to try and avoid the possibly contaminated water.

“I filter the water from the tap because it’s cleaner,” Baskar said. “There’s no harmful bacteria and the water is healthier in the sense that my chances of contracting a disease are much lower with the added disinfectants than drinking straight tap water.”