Access to Clean Drinking Water: A Persistent Challenge in Rural West Virginia
Rural West Virginia, particularly the Appalachian Mountains, has been facing a long-standing issue of access to reliable and clean drinking water. For residents like Roman Patsey of Raleigh County, the struggle is a daily reality. Patsey, a coal miner, has been relying on an abandoned coal mine near his home as his only source of drinking water for nearly 50 years. He has dug his own trenches and laid his own water lines hundreds of feet up a mountainside, a testament to the resourcefulness and resilience of the community.
The Prevalence of Untreated Water Sources
About 250,000 West Virginia residents rely on untreated sources of water, such as natural springs or aquifers from coal mines, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. This is a significant concern, as these sources may be contaminated with various pollutants, posing health risks to those who consume them. Patsey, like many others, has never conducted regular tests on his water for possible contaminants, highlighting the need for improved access to safe and reliable drinking water.
The median income in this area is around $30,000 per year, according to U.S. Census data, a far cry from the prosperity that the coal industry once created. The decline of the coal industry has led to a decline in the water infrastructure it used to maintain, leaving many communities without access to clean drinking water. A visit to a water treatment plant in nearby Kimball, a town of more than 300 people in McDowell County, reveals a facility in disarray, with boarded-up windows, a missing roof, and rusted metal.
Efforts to Improve Access to Clean Water
Raleigh County is racing to replace water systems before they fail, with help from the nonprofit DigDeep, which works to bring clean tap water to the more than 2.2 million Americans who lack access to it. “We’re dealing with a lot of systems that are very expensive to maintain,” said Travis Foreman, director of DigDeep’s Appalachia Water Project. “And the local public service districts, they don’t have the manpower to keep up.” In Rhodell, DigDeep is bringing clean water to the community for the first time in 10 years, a vital step towards ensuring that everyone has access to this fundamental human right.
For Patsey, the prospect of having clean water straight from the tap is a source of hope. “Not long ago at 4 o’clock in the morning, I turned this on like this, not a drop,” Patsey said while standing at his kitchen sink. “It’s such a peace knowing I’m going to have water here.” As the community continues to work towards improving access to clean drinking water, it is essential to recognize the importance of this basic necessity and the need for continued support and investment in water infrastructure.
Read more about the challenges faced by rural West Virginia communities in accessing clean drinking water Here
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