Some residents in a Missouri county are asking, "What’s in the water?"
The Henry County Water Company started the process of “flushing” the water system on Monday.
Mel Lampton lives in Clinton and said he’s only using bottled water until he can install a filtration system in his home.
“Their line is that 'there's nothing to worry about' but we have seen with Flint, Michigan and other places that what we're told by officials is not necessarily what is accurate or true,” Lampton said.
The water department would not respond with an on-camera interview. They forwarded the message sent to water users explaining that the flush is to disinfect water pipes and that the water is safe to drink.
However, a post by famed advocate Erin Brokovich argued otherwise, warning this could add dangerous chemicals to the water supply - mainly total trihalomethanes or TTHMs.
Water consumers of Henry County Water Company, Missouri... you're going to be getting a double dose of toxic...
Posted by Erin Brockovich on Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Lampton said, “We know that this level of TTHMs is going to rise. We don't know how much but it certainly is going to go above the recommended, or the safe level.”
The Environmental Protection Agency limits the total concentration of TTHMs to 80 parts per billion.
Comparison of water levels:
- Kansas City (2015): 8 TTHMs
- Henry County PWSD 3 (2014): 69 TTHMs
- Henry County Water Company (2014): 61 TTHMs
Water quality tests haven’t been done since the flush began.
Lampton said he's in the process of purchasing a filtration system for his home but he said not everyone can afford to. About 15 percent of the population of Henry County falls below the poverty line.
Still, not all in town were concerned about the water flushing. The water department said disinfecting water pipes is common practice across the country.
Clinton resident Sara Dunn said, “I don't think that the city's out to purposely contaminate or purposely harm anyone. I think the Facebook thing that's going around is a little hocus-pocus in my opinion.”
The flush is expected to take about two months to complete.
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Shannon Halligan can be reached at shannon.halligan@kshb.com.
