Pineville, WV (WOAY) – For over a year, residents near Pineville, West Virginia, have been raising alarms about foul-smelling, discolored, and hazardous water flowing from their faucets and wells– essential sources they rely on for clean drinking water.
When asked about the quality of the water that is coming out of their faucets, Dakota Day a resident along Indian Creek in Pineville said,
“The water has got black in the last two years. It stinks so bad…last couple years it stinks so bad, you cant stand it. It’s killing all my animals and stuff, it’s killing all the deer, ain’t no deer left in this creek.”
Independent testing revealed unsafe levels of lead, copper, arsenic, manganese, and other toxins in Indian Creek, a tributary to the Guyandotte River as well as in the local drinking supply. The contaminants turned the water a disturbing color and brought a foul smell wherever the water went. The smell is extremely nauseating and unnatural.
“The smell and odor in your house, gosh, you just can’t hardly even turn it on. You got to shower with it because that’s all you got, but you get out dirtier than when you get in,” said Greg Adkins.
Residents believe the toxic water is directly linked to coal bed methane extraction. Coal bed methane (CBM) extraction is exactly what it sounds like, extracting methane from coal beds. CBM extraction starts by drilling a hole into the coal, then water is pumped out to lower the pressure, where the methane then rises to the top. The methane is then processed and used as natural gas.
In this case, residents have reason to believe the mines are responsible for letting the water that is pumped out (produced water) go directly into the local drinking supply.
The water has had a tragic affect on the community, getting people sick, lowering property value, and changing the lives of many for the worse.
“It’s caused a lot of people to get sick, headaches, diarrhea, yeah it’s really bad,” Richard Altizer said.
There have been multiple residents who have died in the last 6 months due to liver related issues but no definitive links to the water have been published.
Many residents along the creek battle health problems and this crisis has forced a choice between buying medicine, food, or clean water.
“Me and my wife are on our third stage of kidney cancer, so what can you do? We cant even sell out of here to go somewhere where there is clean water,” Bobby Keene said.
As a temporary solution, local residents drove their personal vehicles an hour to Beckley and bought two pallets of water. The water was brought to Indian Creek where over 140 cases were distributed in 2 hours.
Residents were allowed to take home three cases per household and those who picked up the water were extremely thankful.
“It’s been a tremendous help. You don’t think $3 or $4 for a case of water is too much but having to buy enough to cook everything in and wash your face and everything else in is a lot. So it’s been a major major help,” Tereasa West said.
The DEP, the county commission, and other government agencies have been notified of the water crisis and with the lack of action, residents are left confused.
“I know that word has gotten out to them (county commission) and they’ve had proof that the water situation is bad down through here. I just don’t understand why they’re all dragging their feet trying to get us more help,” West said.
With toxic water flowing straight into the local creeks and rivers, delivering pallets of water is only a temporary fix.
“We still need more help. We need all the help we can get with this water situation. The mines are killing us and they’re the ones making a killing,” Adkins said.
