As Martin County tries to fix its deteriorating system, old pipes across the country continue breaking down, increasing the risk of disease.
Junior Hunt, left, and Bobby Fletcher pick up donated water in Huntleyville, Ky., to share with Martin County residents. By Frances Stead Sellers Frances Stead Sellers Senior writer covering national politics Email Bio Follow April 16 at 8:16 PM LOVELY, Ky. — When the well water here turned brown and started tasting salty, Heather Blevins’s parents hooked their property on Dead Man’s Curve into the municipal supply.
“As the infrastructure deteriorates around the country, we are going to see more and more Martin Counties,” he said. A sign in a cafe window in Inez, Ky. 'An increased risk of cancer' Greg Scott, the water district’s new general manager, sounds optimistic as he speaks from an office at the treatment plant, where he stores stacks of bottled water — handouts for residents whose supply fails.
Hilly terrain, carved by rivers and punctuated by springs, exacerbates the technical challenges, as water has to be forced under high pressure to reach families up in the mountains. Leaks create a vacuum that sucks in the surrounding dirt and can create a hazardous concoction with disinfecting chemicals.
A few residents kept a close eye on the mounting crisis, posting news of pipe breaks and photos of filthy water online, as well as bird-dogging local officials. After Nina McCoy, of Martin County Concerned Citizens, started working with the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, the attorney general opened his inquiry into the whereabouts of a “$3 million grant from the Coal Severance Fund,” among other things.
The project has been beset by delays over the route the waterlines should take and a request for a much larger water tank than the school needed. Callaham and James Booth, a former coal baron and chairman of the Martin County Economic Development Authority, said that they requested the tank to provide for a new industrial park, as well.
“I don’t know how we change people’s minds,” Kerr said. “That’s what keeps me up. How do we get people to trust the water again?”
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Draft notebook: Kentucky freshman Herro to test watersKentucky freshman guard Tyler Herro on Friday announced his intention to declare...
Read more »
Lufthansa reports loss as high fuel cost, overcapacity weighGermany's biggest airline Lufthansa posted a loss for first three months of...
Read more »
Lufthansa reports loss as high fuel cost, overcapacity weighGermany's biggest airline Lufthansa posted a loss for first three months of the year, hurt by rising fuel cost and overcapacity in Europe.
Read more »
Here's how Sweden deals with super high taxes, without costing the economyHere's how Sweden handles both high taxes and stable levels of economic growth.
Read more »
Opinion | The high cost of William Barr’s spying allegationsEven if he merely meant to placate the president, he has damaged the credibility of our law enforcement and intelligence community.
Read more »
Rising import prices show higher cost of oil is chiefly behind recent inflation spikeThe price of imported goods rose sharply in March for the second month in a row, but once again almost all the increase was tied to higher oil prices. The...
Read more »
U.S. wholesale prices surge on higher cost of gas, PPI shows, but inflation mostly tameThe wholesale cost of U.S. goods and services surged 0.6% in March, but almost all of the increase reflected the higher cost of gas. Evidence of rising...
Read more »
Netflix shows the high price of A-list statusThe video-streaming service boosted its subscribers by a quarter in the last three months even though it raised prices. It’s now valued at 70 pct more per user than rival Hulu, in which Disney just raised its stake. Netflix’s success isn’t impossible to copy – just very expensive.
Read more »
Paul Krugman: NYC shows that people will work hard with high tax ratesPaul Krugman shares his thoughts on income inequality and how it effects both the economy and the individual. 'The reason to be worried about income inequality is what it does to people, which is ultimately what we care about,' he says.
Read more »