Virgie water safe to drink, officials say

STAFF WRITER

Virgie water testing results are in, and officials don't believe the water is a contributing factor to cancer cases in the area.

The Division of Water has had a lot of experience testing water, which allowed them to compare the results with the normal ranges for the area, said Jim Webb, geologist registered supervisor for the Division of Water.

Although private water supplies, such as from wells in this case, are unregulated, the Division of Water compared the results from the samples to enforceable standards for publicly-supplied drinking water and to naturally occurring water in the area.

The results were within a normal range for the terrain, and did not indicate any contamination from coal mining or any cause for alarm, Webb said. “They were pretty much what I expected.”

If coal mining would have had an impact on well water, Webb said there would have been a lowering of water tables, wells would have gone dry and there would have been an increase in metals. An influx of sediment into wells or any increases in naturally occurring chemicals could also be indications of coal mining impacts on well water.

“If I were them, I would not be concerned with the water being bad,” Webb said.

Soil sample results also seemed to be consistent with the soil geochemistry in this area, he added.

Trace levels of pesticides and herbicides were found, but Webb said they were not found at a level that would be harmful. These types of chemicals are likely a result of the county spraying along the right-of-way on the roads and people spraying their gardens, he said.

“It indicates that there has been some influence” from spraying, but not at a level that should cause concern, Webb said.

Leah Clifton, a resident of the Leftfork of the Longfork of Virgie, said, “I feel that that's unhealthy for us,” Clifton said, but then explained that she doesn't feel as though the pesticides/herbicides are sprayed enough to cause cancer in the area.

One of the wells tested had high levels of bacteria, and Webb stressed the importance of proper construction and proper maintenance of wells. Excess coliform bacteria “can cause health problems,” Webb said.

In a letter to Spicy Johnson, whose well was tested, Webb wrote, “Although I am conversant regarding soils and surface water chemistry, these topics [sediment pond] are outside my area of expertise, and therefore these results, along with the well analyses, have been forwarded to Carl Hays and Charles Holbrook for their review and interpretation.”

Regarding the sediment pond test results, Charles Holbrook of the state Division of Mine Reclamation and Enforcement (DMRE) said, “Everything was in compliance,” at the pond. He also said he wasn't expecting to see any problems in the results.

Environmental Scientist III/Registered Geologist David Bradshaw from the Division of Abandoned Mine Lands said concerning the sediment pond results, “That's not atypical of what you'd find.”

Bradshaw said he's actually surprised that the numbers weren't higher, but that's what sediment ponds are for - to confine materials and protect groundwater.

“This is very normal,” Bradshaw said. “I don't see anything at all in here that would be detrimental to the wells.”

Clifton said she intends to get her own samples to compare them with the Division of Water's results.

“I don't completely trust anybody,” she said, though she did say she feels like the Division of Water is really not for the community or for the coal mining industry.

Clifton said she plans to research the relation between natural gas wells and cancer, next. However, before that, she wants some answers from the DMRE, who she said has been up and down the road numerous times, but hasn't given legitimate answers to her questions regarding what they are doing and what they are finding.

Clifton said she's been going door-to-door getting signatures to request a town meeting with DMRE officials so the DMRE can tell them what they have been doing in the area and what they've found. She said everyone she's approached has signed to request a meeting.

Webb said he is still waiting to get back a few more test results.

Staff writer Lindsay Lancaster can be reached via e-mail at llancaster@news-expressky.com.