Things moved quickly.
事情進展很快。
Michigan's governor, Gretchen Whitmer, has secured more than half of the $30m needed to replace all Benton's lead lines.
密歇根州州長格雷琴·惠特默已經獲得了更換本頓所有水管所需3000萬美元資金的一半以上。
And she has called on the state legislature to allocate $11.4m from the American Rescue Plan, the stimulus package passed in March.
她還呼吁州立法機關從3月份通過的刺激計劃中撥款1140萬美元。
But other cash-strapped towns must vie for limited funding.
但其他資金短缺的城鎮必須爭奪有限的資金。
Even low levels of lead in children can result in behavioural problems, lower IQ and anaemia.
即使兒童體內的鉛含量很低,也會導致行為問題、智商下降和貧血。
In pregnant women, it can induce premature birth and reduced fetal growth, and in adults more generally it can decrease kidney function and cause reproductive problems.
在孕婦中,它會導致早產和胎兒發育減緩,而在成年人中,更普遍的是,它會降低腎功能并導致生殖問題。
The EPA allocates roughly $1bn a year to supporting water-infrastructure projects, including lead-pipe replacements, through grants and loans.
環境保護署通過政府津貼和貸款,每年約有10億美元用于支持水基礎設施項目,包括更換鉛管。
Poorer places may struggle to repay even low-interest loans, however.
然而,即使是低息貸款,貧困地區可能都難以償還。
A lack of robust testing means that several communities are likely to be unaware of the level of lead in their water.
缺乏可靠的測試意味著一些社區可能不知道水中的鉛含量。
Hence the importance of the money promised by the Biden administration.
因此,拜登政府承諾的資金至關重要。
The bipartisan infrastructure bill sets aside $15bn for lead-pipe replacements.
兩黨共同制定的《基建法案》撥出150億美元用于更換含鉛水管。
The $1.7trn Build Back Better bill, still stuck in the Senate, could provide nearly $10bn on top of that, for pipe replacements and mitigation tactics such as filters aimed at schools.
這項耗資1.7萬億美元,仍停留在參議院的《重建法案》,除此之外,還可能提供近100億美元,用于管道更換和針對學校的過濾器等緩解策略。
Though not as much as originally promised, the money will go a long way towards tackling the problem.
雖然沒有最初承諾的那么多,但這筆錢將大大有助于解決這個問題。
Because Benton Harbor does not need to depend on this money, it is luckier than many communities left hoping for federal funds.
因為本頓港不需要依賴這筆錢,它比許多希望得到聯邦資金的社區更幸運。
The town should have clean water before long. In the meantime, its residents will remain wary.
這個城鎮不久就會有干凈的水了。與此同時,其居民仍將保持警惕。
Every day, Mr Pinkney drives a U-Haul truck through town to pass out water bottles with some of his two dozen volunteers.
平克尼先生每天都開著一輛U型運貨卡車穿過小鎮,和他的24名志愿者中的一些人一起分發瓶裝水。
Long before the state ramped up its efforts, he distrusted the water supply.
早在國家加大力度之前,他就不信任供水。
"It wasn't the right colour," he grimaces.
他做了苦臉說:“顏色不對。”
He has not drunk from his tap for nearly a decade.
他近十年沒有喝自來水了。
Mr Pinkney blames the city and state governments for not doing more to fix the city's lead problems, citing years of mismanagement and environmental racism.
平克尼先生指責市和州政府沒有采取更多措施來解決該市的鉛污染問題,列舉了多年來的管理不善和環境種族主義。
The pipes should have been replaced three years ago, he says, as soon as testing showed the town to be falling foul of federal standards.
他說,三年前,在測試表明該鎮不符合聯邦標準時,這些管道就應該換了。
That's why they had to petition, he says: "It got people moving that never would have moved before."
這就是他們不得不請愿的原因,他說:“這讓以前永遠不可能搬家的人都搬走了。”