On Friday, a water fountain at the headquarters of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Washington, D.C. got backed up and overflowed with black sewage.
Employees at the agency were alerted via email that morning:
There is a water line back up in the William Jefferson Clinton North Building that is causing the hallway water fountains to leak throughout the building in the 400 and 500 Corridors. [General Services Administration] is working this issue right now. There is no estimated time for resolution.
It didn't take long for a photo of the leak to make its way to Twitter:
Not the Onion. We repeat, this is not the Onion.
Needless to say, Twitter had a field day with this revelation, which seemed to many to be a perfect reflection of the moment we're in.
The image all too perfectly sums up not only the current U.S. administration, but also the rot that presently pervades the EPA. Trump-appointed administrator Scott Pruitt, who previously undermined and fought against the protections and regulations instututed by the EPA during his tenure as Attorney General of Oklahoma, is now dismantling them from the inside.
A sign of things to come?
The flooded fountain is perhaps a prophecy of the EPA's doom.
But don't worry, Pruitt himself will not be affected by the worsened drinking water conditions. At least he'll be able to afford the bottled water.
Isn't it ironic?
This is your EPA on Trump.
The symbolism is a little too on the nose. Seems subtlety was thrown out the window with the bath water a long time ago.
The very definition of karma at its finest.
And sometimes you need a cartoonist to eloquently sum up the ridiculousness of our country's actions in the grand scheme of things.
Remember this guy from FernGully?
This is just the beginning.
The Trump administration is all about deregulation, not just the EPA, but the internet, health care, education, and anti-discrimination policies.
We have a new, more appropriate use of the "EPA" acronym.
We wonder what Pruitt will use to clean up this mess?
The sludge was eventually cleaned up by early afternoon, according to E&E. Apparently, this isn't the first issue the building has had with its drinking fountains, which have been known to emit "odd smells."
Offered a former EPA official:
“I can’t imagine that anyone would actually drink out of those drinking water fountains. I think I used it to pour my coffee down.”
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h/t: Twitter