Vulnerable population
Thursday, February 28th, 2008
By Staff
Staff writer
When a customer of a public water system turns on his tap, he knows he is getting water that has been tested for contaminants.
But people whose homes are supplied by wells often don’t know what’s in the water they are drinking. Private wells, in most cases, are not tested or monitored by state or local officials.
That leaves more than 2 million people across the state — about 100,000 people in Cumberland County — living with the prospect that the water they use daily for drinking, cooking and bathing could be tainted with dangerous toxins.
The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the state Health Department rely on residents to report unusual tastes or odors in their water before testing it. But some contaminants, such as arsenic, are undetectable.
When the state finds contaminants in a well, it often supplies bottled water when no other option is available. But the state does not have to contact neighbors. And when a homeowner sells his house, he doesn’t have to mention whether his well is contaminated or safe. (more…)
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