Online
at: http://www.mariettatimes.com/news/story/0927202003_new11ruralsyste.asp
September
27, 2003
The
Marietta Times
(Ohio)
Examining the water we
drink: Rural system in a bind
By Philip
Elliott
pelliott@mariettatimes.com
TUPPERS PLAINS - In
the green-trimmed BP store at the corner of Ohio 7 and Ohio 681, most faces
are familiar to clerk Marcia Guess, a lifelong resident of the Meigs County
town.
"I've lived here all my life," she said. "I know most everyone."
During her afternoon shift, Guess chats with residents about a set of 70,000-mile
Michelin tires that are kept at an even 40 pounds of pressure and tells
another customer not to worry about a fuel sale that ran over by a penny.
"I'm not that concerned," she said as she takes a $5 bill from
a customer.
The lack of concern about the penny extends to other aspects of Guess' life,
including what could be the most hazardous part of her day: the water that
comes from her home's tap.
Guess is one of the Tuppers Plains-Chester Water District's 11,000 or so
customers who drink water that has shown signs of a chemical known as C8,
which is the impetus for a class-action lawsuit in West Virginia.
The suit claims DuPont knowingly allowed C8, a component used during the
production of Teflon, to be discharged into local water supplies at unsafe
levels and caused adverse effects on residents' health.
DuPont claims there is no evidence C8 poses a threat to humans.
To Guess, however, the water system comes as a welcome addition.
"I was so glad to get rid of the well," she said.
Her water, some of the 1.1 million gallons pumped each day in the district,
comes from the six wells at the water treatment facility along the Ohio
River. The closer each of the wells to the river, the higher the C8 concentration.
The well field is about 11 miles away from DuPont's Washington, W.Va., Works
plant.
A sign posted on the fence outside compound boasts the water is the best
tasting in the United States, an honor from the 2000 national competitions
in Washington, D.C.
The distinction is little consolation for district general manager Don Poole,
who has traveled to the capital for each U.S. EPA meeting that could determine
what moves - if any - to take to test for C8.
"You go to those meetings and you feel illiterate," Poole said.
"Right now, we're just listening. And we're getting a lot of conflicting
information."
But not enough information, he fears, and not the right kinds.
Of the more than 1,000 chemicals that could be in Ohio waterways, the EPA
mandates local districts test for 90.
"It's a joke," Poole said. "There are thousands out there."
On the district's limited budget, there is no way Tuppers Plains-Chester
could test for all of them. Even if they identified all the contaminants,
they do not have the technology to remove them.
While the hearings continue in Washington and Charleston, W.Va., Poole said
he plans to wait and watch what other districts do or are forced to do;
he does not expect an immediate answer.
"We're kind of vulturistic like that," he said. "This issue
will be here when I retire."
He has 10 years before he qualifies.
Affected
systems
Affected water systems with C8 contamination above
0.05 parts per billion:
Little Hocking Water Association
Lubeck Public Water District
City of Belpre
Tuppers Plains/Chester Water District
Mason County, W.Va.
Village of Pomeroy
DuPont Washington Works
G.E. Plastics
