Read the full article by Daniella Hankey (WECT)
“COLUMBUS COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) – The results are in, and residents who had their private wells tested got answers on contamination in their drinking water.
The meeting was hosted by the Department of Environmental Quality and the big focus was for the DEQ to make residents aware of the levels of PFAS found in their wells.
Chemours. the company responsible for dumping toxins into the Cape Fear River, was ordered to test wells in four area counties: Columbus, New Hanover, Brunswick, and Pender.
The testing comes after the DEQ found Chemours responsible for the contamination of New Hanover County wells and other counties downstream, which required Chemours to test private drinking wells downstream of its Fayetteville Works facility.
100,000 letters were sent out to Columbus, New Hanover, Brunswick, and Pender counties. After doing the sample testing, 79 properties are now eligible for help from Chemours. The DEQ now says residents need to take charge.
‘The next steps really are for residents to request their well be tested to get that done free of charge through a contractor that the Chemours company is utilizing. Then that data will be shared with the homeowners and they will be informed if they need an alternate water source,’ said Director of the Division of Waste Management for DEQ, Michael Scott.
Chemours will provide free clean drinking water to those eligible.
If you have any questions or want your well sampled, you can call Chemours at (910) 678-1100. Messages to the Chemours call line are monitored during regular business hours (Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.); Chemours should respond within 24-to-48 hours starting on the next business day.” …