Poorest at Risk, Skepticism High as Officials OK Water Safety in West Virginia

Though the taps in Charleston, West Virginia are back on and officials have said the water is ‘all-clear,’ new reports focusing on the fallibility of the safety claims and the skepticism of area residents underscore potential dangers for the many who have no alternative but to drink the tap water.

“My mom’s a nurse, and she didn’t want us drinking it or giving it to the kids or our animals,” Shawna Moore, a mother of two, told the New York Times.

On Tuesday, West Virginia American Water (WVAW), the regional utility, continued its second day of lifting the drinking ban throughout Charleston and the surrounding area—four days after the toxic detergent 4-methylcyclohexane methanol (or MCHM) spilled into the Elk River, contaminating the local water supply.

The Times notes that despite city officials giving the greenlight, the announcement has been met with widespread public distrust, with the majority of local residents interviewed saying they would continue to drink and cook with bottled water.

While some areas have received ample support to prolong continued bottle water use, reporting by Al Jazeera shows that regional economics affect how quickly others must return to the tap.

In the coal mining town of Nellis, an hour south of Charleston, residents describe inflated pricing and fights breaking out over scarce supplies. Al Jazeera reports:

“If you are living paycheck to paycheck, purchasing bottled water or driving to the nearest distribution point for a rationed amount of water, it can quickly drain your wallet,” Vivian Stockman, an activist with the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, told Al Jazeera.

“People with more money, they can go buy water all they want to, and here we are having to carry it half a mile, and go up to the spring and carry it with jugs,” Hempstead continues. “You take it for granted when you have it every day. We had to turn our main line off, because it was coming up from the toilets, and it took your breath away. Your skin itches, your eyes burn.”