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The water tank that feeds into the North Shore Villas complex was not cleaned out for years. Micah Green/The Sumter Item
The water tank that feeds into the North Shore Villas complex was not cleaned out for years. Micah Green/The Sumter Item
The South Carolina Environmental Law Project is calling for the state’s health agency to require the regular inspection of storage tanks to protect drinking water, following an Uncovered investigation.
Without that change, residents in the state could be exposed to "illness-causing" water from their taps, the law firm said in a petition, which it filed on behalf of concerned residents and organizations.
The proposal would require the state Department of Health and Environmental Control to force public systems to examine the inside of water tanks every year and report their findings. If contaminants are found, SCELP suggested the tanks be cleaned within six months.
“We shouldn’t have to rely on the good graces of a water system to check its own tank,” said Ben Cunningham, an attorney who filed the petition.
The request follows an October investigation by The Post and Courier and The Sumter Item, which found that a water tank owned by the town of Summerton was not cleaned for years. Several inches of sludge grew inside the tank, which fed to a nearby housing complex, turning its white interior black and brown.
Discolored water flowed from faucets and gave shower curtains a brown tint, according to residents who lived in the complex. White clothes turned beige after they were washed. And the town's new water operator determined the tank wasn't cleaned in at least 12 years. The inside was cleaned in August.
Uncovered is an initiative by The Post and Courier to team up with community outlets across the state to investigate questionable conduct.
SCELP, in its petition, said the issue in Summerton exposed a gap in South Carolina's existing rules, and it referred to laws in other states that require the inside of tanks be inspected. It said mandating the reviews was "both necessary and economically justifiable." It also called for other changes to drinking water rules in response to issues in communities, including in Denmark and Darlington County.
Currently, DHEC and the federal government recommend, but don’t require, that water utilities check inside their tanks. DHEC recommends that they are cleaned and examined every three to five years, in line with what the water industry’s top trade group suggests. Instead, the agency relies on water quality tests to identify health risks, a spokesperson said last year.
According to state law, DHEC has 30 days take action on the petition or deny it. A spokesperson in an email said the agency looked "forward to reviewing and responding to" it.
Reach Stephen Hobbs at 843-998-0005. Follow him on Twitter @bystephenhobbs.
Stephen Hobbs is a member of the Watchdog and Public Service team. Signal: (843) 998-0005. ProtonMail: stephenhobbs@protonmail.com.
Watchdog and Public Service reporter
Thad Moore is a reporter on The Post and Courier’s Watchdog and Public Service team and a graduate of the University of South Carolina. To share tips securely, reach Moore via ProtonMail at thadmoore@protonmail.com or on Signal at 843-214-6576.
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