Safe water for McDowell and Wyoming Counties

I'm Terra Vance, and I'm working with a community of concerned groups and individuals to raise money to purchase safe drinking water for people in Wyoming and McDowell Counties in West Virginia's coal camps.

All proceeds will go directly to Sweet Springs Institute, Inc, a West Virginia local 501(c)3, and 100% of funds raised will be used to purchase water for local residents.

Currently, thousands of people in these two counties, the poorest counties in the United States, are without access to safe water. Their water comes out in shades of gray, black, red, and brown, smells like paint thinner or rotten eggs, and causes immediate rashes and lesions on the skin. It is not safe to be consumed or even touched.

Independent tests show lead, arsenic, and aluminum levels hundreds of parts per billion over the legal safe limits. Local residents have had stream water tested to reveal the water has surfactants in it-- an industrial chemical used to separate coal from impurities.

Residents are collecting water from roadside streams because they cannot afford to purchase water from grocery stores.

The coal and natural gas industries have created horrifying living conditions for West Virginians who have suffered exploitation and poverty to power the country and keep the lights on for over 150 years.

If we end up raising more money than is necessary for the local demand for water, or if state or federal emergency efforts finally respond by providing water, then we will use remaining funds to provide other emergency response provisions to locals that may include food, clothing, water filtration, or independent testing of soil and water safety.