What We Discovered in Coal Country Will SHOCK You
“It’s hard to breathe it, I don't even like turning it on to wash my clothes," Indian Creek WV's Cody Day tells us. Wyoming County's contaminated water killed his dogs and roosters—and many others.
Hey folks, it’s Jordan. If you can, please support this important—and expensive—ON-THE-GROUND reporting.
While reporting from the backwoods of “coal country” West Virginia, we spoke with several residents who lives along Indian Creek and have private water wells they get their drinking water from. What they all told me was shocking.
“I’ve been seeing [dead] raccoons, been seeing deer dead, been seeing my dog— it’s just like their sick one day and they're dead the next before you can even take them to the vet or anything,” Indian Creek resident Cody Day told me in front of Indian Creek (which is across from his family’s home). While doing our interview, the smell from the creek water was HORRID—like a bowl of rotten eggs, sulfur, and paint thinner.
WATCH BELOW:
Cody has resorted to going to his family’s home to shower and bathe his son. But, when he is home, breathing in the contaminated water is making him ill.
“It’s hard to breathe it, I don't even like turning it on to wash my clothes," Day told me. “It smells like paint thinner or something real bad. There’s a couple older ladies up the road that are sick. It’s so hard to breathe it; my friends are coming over saying they can tell a big difference as soon as they come over here.”
Cody and his animals aren’t the only ones suffering from water that independent testing has detected alarming levels of arsenic, lead, manganese, and iron (high iron breeds bacteria).
“People are coming in and they’re having extreme abdominal cramps to the points that they’re crying,” a healthcare worker, who we kept anonymous to protect them from any professional repercussions, told Jordan. “They’re sweating from fevers and it’s very painful—it’s not just a normal diarrhea.” Other common symptoms the surge of patients they're seeing have are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, and rapid weight loss. IF YOU MISSED THAT INTERVIEW, WATCH BELOW:
Thus far, NO MAJOR WEST VIRGINIA POLITICIAN has responded to the sick residents of Wyoming County (one of the poorest in America). Let them know what you think.
Governor Jim Justice Office:
304-558-2000
Governor Jim Justice Mansion:
304-558-3588
Senator Joe Manchin:
202-224-3954 (D.C)
304-342-5855 (Charleston WV)
Senator Shelley Moore Capito:
202-224-6472 (D.C)
304-347-5372 (Charleston WV)
Rep. Carol Miller:
202-225-3452 (D.C)
304-250-6177 (Beckley WV)
681-945-6556 (Charleston WV)
This story is going to take a lot more digging and work on my part. Ideally, I will be able to go back there to dig further and talk to more residents. But, to be real: we need to grow our finding to keep covering these stories and funding expensive reporting ON-THE-GROUND. If you can, please support this important reporting.
Jordan