“Martin County, Kentucky has been without clean water since 2000. Why aren’t we talking about it?,” the poster implores.
Every day for more than 18 years, nearly 10,000 people served by the Martin County Water District go to sleep knowing they will wake up to one of three things: no water at all, extremely low water pressure (to the point of being unable to shower), or boil-water advisories due to contamination.
Prior to 2000, the water district was struggling with deferred maintenance and management issues. Underground mining sunk the water tables in the county, causing nearly all of the private wells in the county to run dry, placing further strain on the county’s system. Originally built for 600 homes, the system now serves approximately 3,500 homes.
On October 11, 2000, just after midnight, 300 million gallons of coal slurry – waste coal, chemicals and water – spilled into the county’s water supplies from an impoundment owned by local coal company Massey Energy. The spill was 28 times bigger than the 1989 Exxon Valdez Alaska oil spill.
It became the worst environmental disaster in the southeastern United States. It sent the district into a tailspin. Issues piled up and year-after-year, the district continued to fail reviews by Kentucky regulators.
Today, the county faces 60 percent water loss – this is water that citizens are paying for that goes into the ground through breaks in the system. Water that makes it through the pipes is still contaminated. According to Martin County Concerned Citizens, it is extremely rare that you will find someone in the county who drinks the water, and many households spend $100 per month on bottled water. With 35.8 percent of people in the county living in poverty, residents are struggling even without this expense. Adding to water expenses, another rate increase for county water was passed in November 2018.
So, what is to be done?
Martin County Concerned Citizens is working on it. Nina McCoy, chair of the group, said they have found greater success in organizing since Facebook has become popular. Residents use the “Martin County Water Warriors” group (more than 1,900 members) to share photos and videos of what was going on at their houses across the county.
McCoy said the biggest strides have been made since linking up with Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, a non-profit law firm based in Whitesburg, Kentucky.
“Our community has been trying to say this has been a problem for years, and until Mary Cromer [a lawyer with the center] came in to actually explain to us what our rights were and we could do, we didn’t have any traction,” McCoy said.
With the water district looking at repairs to the infrastructure totaling more than $15 million, the solutions are not simple. A ruling this year by the Public Services Commission (PSC) said the district must have a contract with a private professional management firm by July 2019. Though this could be a positive change, the community and the Law Center are worried this will be costly for the county, risking another rate increase.
The group and Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center (along with several other committed partners) are focusing on continued PSC pressure for other solutions.
Meanwhile, many are trying to spread greater awareness in the state and beyond. The poster, designed by Alyssa Dyer, a Martin County native, is one example of the tools being used to organize. A documentary screening in Lexington recently raised more than $2,000 for Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center’s efforts to fight for clean water in Martin County. An awareness event hosted by rising country music star, Tyler Childers, who is from neighboring Lawrence County, saw thousands of bottles of water donated for residents.
Martin County is not the only eastern Kentucky county facing major infrastructure issues. For example, regulations state a district can only have 15 percent water loss, yet nine counties in eastern Kentucky have a water loss rate of more than 35 percent.
Communities coming together to organize and fight for better infrastructure are building Appalachia’s New Day from the ground up.
About: Appalachia’s New Day is a new storytelling effort offered by MACED to eastern Kentucky communities. We can work with you to help identify, shape and amplify stories about businesses, programs and initiatives in your community that are helping build a new economy in eastern Kentucky. Contact us or sign up here if you would like more details.
