Organizers of the Prenter Water Fund said water deliveries to about 80 families in the Prenter area were to start Tuesday. Water Fund organizers got grant money to buy 55-gallon water barrels and pumps for families plagued by poisoned groundwater. Now they're trying to raise enough money to pay a driver to deliver the water.
About 300 families in and near Prenter have bad water. Health officials and residents believe slurry from abandoned mines and blasting from nearby mining projects contaminated Prenter's groundwater, leading to high rates of gallbladder and kidney disease, unexplained and persistent infections and rotting teeth.
Boone County officials and officials for West Virginia American Water Co. are working on a water project to run water lines from Seth to the Prenter area, but construction is at least a year away. In the meantime, a group of organizers set up the Prenter Water Fund to bring residents an alternative to using contaminated well water.
"Basically, we're just trying to cut down exposure as much as possible," said organizer Matthew Louis-Rosenberg. "It's definitely a stopgap, but we'll keep this up until water is being piped to peoples' homes."
Grant money helped pay for about 150 55-gallon barrels, hand pumps, a water tank that fits on a truck, and pumping equipment.
Louis-Rosenberg said one barrel is being distributed for each three people in a household, so many households in the area will get more than one barrel. Water Fund organizers hope to fill the barrels every two weeks.
Organizers expect it will cost about $15,000 to keep the project going for a year. Louis-Rosenberg said residents will still probably have to bathe and wash clothing with contaminated water, but the trucked-in water will at least mean they won't have to drink and cook with it.
Even with the barrels, more than 200 families will still be stuck with bad groundwater. Water Fund organizers hope to get more grant money and collect more donations to buy more barrels and bring fresh water to more people in the area.
So far, they've raised more than $2,000.
"We'll get the money from somewhere," said Maria Lambert, a Sand Lick resident and one of the organizers of the Water Fund.
She said organizers plan more fundraisers and hope to hold water drives to bring 1-gallon jugs of potable water to the people of Prenter.
To donate to the organization, visit www.prenterwaterfund.org or send a check to Prenter Water Fund, c/o Coal River Mountain Watch, P.O. Box 651, Whitesville, WV 25209.
Reach Rusty Marks at rustyma...@wvgazette.com
or 304-348-1215.
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