Residents tired of waiting for clear water solution in S. Granville County
ATTORNEYS, 9, 1, 9 ALL FOURS.
>> ALONG WATER QUALITY PROBLEM
IN SOUTHERN GRANVILLE COUNTY
HAS RESIDENTS FED UP. THEY SAY
THE WATER IS OFF AND DISCOLORED
AND SMELLS BAD AND TESTING IN
2022. SHOWED HIGH LEVELS OF
PFAS, A TOXIC CHEMICAL LINKED
TO CANCER WRAL'S DESTINY.
PATTERSON IS GETTING ANSWERS
FROM THE PEOPLE IN CHARGE OF
FIXING THE PROBLEM AND ASKING
WHEN RESIDENTS WILL ACTUALLY
SEE AN IMPROVEMENT HERE.
>> THIS IS HOME FOR DEAR OLD
LOSS THIS WAY, BUT HIS HOME IN
HIS TOWN, IT'S GOT THAT KIND
OF MUSTY ODOR TO IT ALL LACED
WITH PIPES FULL OF WATER.
AND IT DOES HAVE KIND OF A
BROWNISH THAT HE REFUSES TO
DRINK. THIS IS COOKING AND
DRINKING WATER. NOW SIMPLY A
VOTING CITIZEN. HE PREVIOUSLY
SERVED IN CITY GOVERNMENT FOR
NEARLY 3 DECADES FROM
COMMISSIONER TO MAYOR. IT'S A
SERIOUS CONVERSATION IN 2013,
WRAL TALKED HAMAS ABOUT PLANS
TO EXPAND SEWER CAPACITY.
THE WATER COMPANY SO SOMETHING
MANY IN THE COMMUNITY OPPOSED
AT THE TIME. YES.
>> MY NAME IS ON THE DOCUMENT
THAT SOLD CREEDMORE SYSTEM TO
THE SOUTH KOREAN THE WATER AND
SAYS WATER SIGNATURE MUST NOW
REGRETS 3 YEARS AFTER LEAVING
OFFICE IN 2017 IS WHEN HE
STARTED TO NOTICE ISSUES WITH
HIS WATER. SINCE THEN HE WROTE
TO GOVERNOR IS ROY COOPER AND
JOSH STEIN AS WELL AS STATE
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
OFFICIALS. THE CITY'S OWN
INDEPENDENT TESTING FOUND IRON
AND MANGANESE IN THE WATER.
AND WHILE IT CAN AFFECT THE
SMELL AND THE TASTE IT STILL
NEEDS TO STATE AND FEDERAL
REGULATIONS, A BIGGER CONCERN,
PFAS.
>> THE WATER COMPANY'S
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SAT DOWN
WITH ME IN THIS BUILDING
TELLING ME THAT THEY'RE WORKING
HARD TO MEET THE FEDS TO 2029
DEADLINE TO MITIGATE THAT.
SO FAR THIS YEAR. THE WATER
COMPANY SAYS IT RECEIVED
ROUGHLY A DOZEN COMPLAINTS
ABOUT THE WATER RECORDS SHOW
THAT THE NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS
IS ON PACE TO MATCH LAST
YEAR'S. A SLIGHT UP TICK
COMPARED TO THE PAST 5 YEARS.
>> BUT FAR FEWER THAN A DECADE
AGO. WHAT IS YOUR MESSAGE TO
PEOPLE WHO DO STILL FEEL THIS
MISTRUST TOWARDS THE WATER
SYSTEM THAT THAT'S THAT'S VERY
CHALLENGING. YOU CAN LOSE
PEOPLE'S TRUST OVERNIGHT.
>> BASICALLY, IT TAKES A LONG
TIME TO BUILD THAT TRUST UP
AGAIN. THE WATER COMPANY
EXPECTS TO SPEND AT LEAST
26 MILLION DOLLARS TO UPGRADE
ITS INFRASTRUCTURE. IT WAS A
PROJECT THAT.
CAME DOWN TO US WITHOUT A WHOLE
LOT OF WARNING SKIES. SCHEUER
SAYS THEY'RE WORKING ON A PILOT
PROGRAM TO IDENTIFY THE BEST
WAYS TO FILTER OUT HARMFUL
CHEMICALS IN THE MEANTIME, 200
PEOPLE SIGNED A PETITION ASKING
CREEDMORE CITY LEADERS TO
CONSIDER BUYING WATER FILTERS
FOR HOUSEHOLDS AND BUSINESSES.
>> AND IDEA SHOT DOWN BY BOTH
THE WATER COMPANY AND SOME CITY
LEADERS DUE TO COSTS AND LEGAL
CONCERNS THAT IS LIKE A
BAND-AID. THAT'S A SHORT-TERM
SOLUTION.
>> THAT CAUSES A LONG-TERM
PROBLEM.
>> ASIDE FROM THAT, DO YOU
THINK THEY'RE SO HIGH FOR THAT?
YES, THERE ARE ANY OTHER WAY WE
YEAH, THE MAYOR PRO TEM GOES
ON TO TELL ME THAT THE CITY HAS
MADE MORE CONSCIOUS ZONING
DECISIONS AND IMPLEMENTED NEW
REQUIREMENTS FOR NEW
SUBDIVISIONS AS THE AREA GROWS.
BUT MANY PEOPLE WANT SOLUTIONS
THAT WON'T TAKE YEARS TO
IMPLEMENT ANYTHING WE CAN DO
TO HELP KEEP CITIZENS.
HEALTHIER.
>> FOR AS LONG AS WE CAN, YOU
KNOW, TO THAT LONG-TERM
SOLUTION COMES, I THINK THAT'S
WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
>> DESTINY PATTERSON, WRAL,
NEWS, GRANVILLE COUNTY. SO SURE
PLANS TO HAVE A BETTER IDEA
OF THE BEST SYSTEM TO FILTER
OUT HARMFUL CHEMICALS BY THE
BEGINNING OF NEXT MONTH.
KEEP PFAS HAS PLAGUED WATER
SYSTEMS ACROSS NORTH CAROLINA
AND ARDOT WRAL DOCUMENTARY UNIT
HAS INVESTIGATED THOSE