Small town SC mayor won’t let Flint water crisis researcher test wells for pollution

The mayor of a small S.C. town says he won’t let a researcher — credited with helping to unravel the Flint, Mich., water crisis — test his community’s drinking water for possible contamination.

Denmark Mayor Gerald Wright said Virginia Tech professor Marc Edwards doesn’t need to check the town’s water because the state Department of Health and Environmental Control already has found it to be safe.

Responding to local complaints, Edwards has found lead pollution in the tap water at some Denmark homes. He’s now interested in determining whether bacteria tainted the wells that supply Denmark’s water. Sewage has leaked near the wells, he said.

“I don’t see the need to have someone from out of state check this,” Wright said Tuesday. “I have full faith in the folks at DHEC. I don’t think they have any reason to give us bad information. They are qualified.”

Edwards said he wants to sample four town wells to see whether they meet federal standards for bacteria. He also wants to check for other pollutants, including solvents, that Edwards said have shown up in the town’s water before.

But after initially approving the testing, Wright refused Edwards’ request, the Virginia Tech researcher said.

“I don’t understand the mayor’s flip-flopping, nor do I understand how any water system in the country can defend not allowing samples to be collected of the water source,” Edwards told The State newspaper. “The wells are behind a locked fence, and I can’t go in and touch town property.”

The mayor’s refusal to allow testing comes amid growing tensions over the water system in Denmark, a town of 3,300 about an hour’s drive south of Columbia.

Officials of the Bamberg County town say the water is safe, and the Department of Health and Environmental Control reported no problems this week.

But some residents have complained about discolored water, as well as lead pollution.

Tests that researchers have conducted found a slightly higher percentage of homes with elevated lead levels in drinking water than is allowed by federal law. State tests have found lead, but at levels that are considered safe for drinking water.

Lead is a toxic metal that can cause brain damage in young children and nervous system disorders in adults. Federal agencies, including the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, say any level of lead can be dangerous to children, no matter how small. Bacteria pollution can cause upset stomachs in people who consume tainted water.

Edwards, a Virginia Tech civil engineering professor, has done extensive work on public drinking water, including a lead contamination problem in Washington, D.C. He also helped expose problems with lead in the Flint, Mich., drinking water system about two years ago. The contamination was a major national story that ultimately caused Flint to switch drinking water sources.

Edwards and Virginia Tech researchers now are checking water systems in selected communities across the country, including Denmark. He said he hopes to bring safer water to communities that don’t have the money to adequately keep up their water systems.

Wright said Edwards’ efforts in Denmark are being driven by political rivals who are trying to make it appear the town has a water crisis, when it does not. He said the Department of Health and Environmental Control already has said the town’s water is good to drink.

“To me, it is an insult to DHEC to say, ‘I’m going to get somebody else to check the water samples behind you,’ ” Wright said. “We know ... the motivation for having that done.”

DHEC says Denmark has passed recent tests for lead in its drinking water. But spokesman Tommy Crosby said DHEC has no problems with Edwards checking Denmark’s water, too.

“We have informed Dr. Edwards that DHEC has no objections to him conducting sampling of the City of Denmark’s public wells,” Crosby said in an email.

Meg Morgan Adams, the Edisto Riverkeeper’s director, questioned why the mayor won’t allow the water testing.

“What’s the harm in allowing someone to come in and test water quality?” she asked.

This story was originally published January 24, 2018 at 12:10 PM with the headline "Small town SC mayor won’t let Flint water crisis researcher test wells for pollution."