| COMMENT By Bob Weaver
It's a problem described in "Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner," - "Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink."
A state of emergency has been declared for water customers affecting nine WV counties, a chemical spill into the Elk River that reportedly went unnoticed and not reported by the company.
Frustration of residents and businesses continues to escalate as emergency resources are being poured into the communities.
The story has headlined most of the national news.
The chemical company appeared oblivious about the spill, with safety spill containment basins reportedly in disrepair. Kanawha Co. commissioner said the containment area needed $1 million in repair.
Over 100,000 West Virginia Water customers (over 300,000 citizens) are affected with a "no use" directive except for flushing and fire control.
Clay Country and the Geary District of Roane County are included in the no use ban, with the City of Spencer offering to make water available to affected residents.
The timeline regarding the actual spillage and the reporting to the public was several hours, the discovery made by local residents who kept reporting an odor.
Water company officials still do not know how long it's going to take to remove the hazardous chemical that contaminated water through 1,500 miles of line.
The do-not-use order is the largest that West Virginia American Water has ever issued.
The actual danger of the contaminant to the public had not been learned by mid-day Friday.
Kanawha County, once called "the chemical valley," has a long history of spills, explosions,fires, air pollution events that companies reluctantly reported to authorities, many affecting public health.
In this case, according to media reports, Freedom Industries did not appear to be aware or concerned about the spill when officials arrived.
Kanawha County emergency services official C. W. Sigman said when he arrived at the plant with the Department of Environmental Protection,
the company wasn't helpful and the agencies had to find the source of the leak.
The company is being cited, investigations launched, and class-action lawsuits are being filed.
Meanwhile, 100,000 homes are in a schism of finding water to drink, cooking with water not an option, and laundry and bathing is off limits.
West Virginia citizens have long been at odds over protecting public water, more often taking sides with the chemical industries and the extractors for the sake of jobs, trusting them they will operate in the interest of public safety and life-giving water will be there, many politicians in favor of deregulation.
At the same time, WV environmental groups accuse the EPA with being complicit in actually enforcing regulations.
See WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING - State's Chemical Companies Follow Own Safety Plans, Bayer CropScience Folding Their Tent
BAYER CROPSCIENCE PLANT KEEPING SECRETS - Explosion Put Kanawha Valley Residents At Risk
BAYER WOULDN'T GIVE 911 INFORMATION ABOUT EXPLOSION
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