While we take clean water for granted, in some towns in Texas contamination of ground water is a big problem. Since the United States is not a third world country, its citizens automatically assume that clean water is as American as apple pie…in a perfect world - maybe (Read More) Clean Water: Reality or Myth: Since the United States is not a third world country, its citizens automatically assume that clean water is as American as apple pie…in a perfect world - maybe.
That is -- unless you live in some parts of Texas -- where clean water is about as clean and clear as a mirage. It seems that abandoned oil field waste has impeded their ability to have clean and safe water for almost a decade. A bureaucratic battle ensued but and finally the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) confirmed that groundwater in the area was contaminated and will pay to install a main water line.
This waste is mostly oily saltwater used in drilling. The waste contains substances such as sludge from storage pits and tank bottoms, used glycol, amine, and hydrogen sulfide scrubber liquid. There are at least 26 acknowledged chemicals in the waste, including such known carcinogens as benzene and one category listed as - other. Oddly enough, oil and gasoline are not categorized as hazardous waste.
Rather than governmental agencies on the state and national levels who are better suited to handle these kinds of problems - the residents of these small towns of DeBerry and Bethany have had to fight city hall and beyond for clean water, a substance that most of us take for granted.
