Student journalists investigate unsafe water

A new investigative report found that as many as 63-million people, nearly a fifth of the country, were exposed to unsafe water more than once during the past decade. The investigation, which is part of the Carnegie-Knight News-21 program, is called Troubled Water. The project includes a documentary and more than a dozen multimedia stories and databases on water pollution. Jacquee Petchel, the executive editor of News-21 and Jasmine Spearing-Bowen, one of the 29-student-journalists involved in the project, will tell us more about their work.

Transcript:

VIDEO: WATER IS THE ESSENTIAL PART OF OUR LIFE.

VIDEO: LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING. WE DON'T HAVE RUNNING WATER. PEOPLE DIDN'T HAVE THE MONEY FOR THAT.

VIDEO: YOU WOULD BE BETTER OFF TO DRINK OUTF A MUD PUDDLE THAN OUR WELL.

VIDEO: YOU CAN'T LIVE THAT WAY.

VIDEO: I BELIEVE THIS SHOW RESPONSE IN TREATMENT IS A POISONING OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.

VIDEO: I KNOW THERE IS A LOT OF UNANSWERED QUESTIONS.

VIDEO: DEFINITELY LEAD.

VIDEO: NITRATES.

VIDEO: ARSENIC.

VIDEO: WHERE YOU ARE BORN DETERMINES YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE ULTIMATELY.

VIDEO: KIDS WALKING OUT OF SCHOOLS BECAUSE THEY WANT CLEAN WATER.

VIDEO: EVERY TIME YOU TURN ON THE WATER YOU WONDER WHAT AM I DOING?

VIDEO: THIS IS ONE OF THE LARGER CHAT PILES AT THE TAR CREEK SUPERFUND SITE. THERE IS A COUPLE MILLION TONS OF MINE WASTE. YOU’VE GOT WINDBORNE, LEAD LADEN DUST, YOU’VE GOT HEAVY METALS, IT IS CONTAMINATING DRINKING WATER AND SURFACE WATER SOURCES.
VIDEO: WE DIDN'T KNOW THE CHAT PILES HAD ALL THIS POLLUTION AND STUFF IN THEM. WE WOULD SLEEP ON THEM AT NIGHT. WE WOULD GET ON TOP OF THEM IN THE SUMMERTIME BECAUSE IT WAS COOLER IN THE SUMMERTIME. THE FIRST TIME WE SAW THE EPA THEY CAME WITH THE SUITS ON AND THE MASKS AND EVERYTHING.

VIDEO: THEY MINED UNDERGROUND AND WHEN THEY LEFT, LEFT HUGE VOIDS AND THERE WERE A LOT OF COLLAPSES HAPPENING. SO THAT WAS REALLY THE IMPETUS TO GET EVERYBODY OUT OF HERE. ALL THESE PEOPLE THAT LIVED HERE HAD A LOT OF LOCAL PRIDE. THEY GREW UP AND WENT TO SCHOOL HERE AND ALL THAT DISAPPEARED.

VIDEO: THE PEOPLE WERE YOUNG FAMILIES AND PEOPLE WENT OUT AND PLAYED AFTER DARK UNTIL 10:00 AND NOBODY WORRIED ABOUT YOU. NOW IT IS WEIRD NOT TO SEE THE TOWN. DRIVE THROUGH AND THE HOUSES ARE GONE AND EVERYBODY IS GONE. IT IS JUST NO SOUNDS. IT WAS AFTER THE DEPRESSION AND PROVIDED JOBS WHERE PEOPLE WHEN THERE WASN'T ANY. I WOULD LIKE FOR PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT. BUT THE COMPANIES THAT DID THE MINING. THEY DID THE WRONG THING. TOOK THE MONEY OUT OF THE GROUND AND INSTEAD OF PUTTING IT IN TO CLEAN IT UP THEY TOOK OFF. LOOK AROUND AND SEE HOW MUCH THIS CONTAMINATED MATERIAL IS STILL ON TOP OF THE GROUND. WITH THE RAIN COMES DOWN ON AND GETS ON THAT, IT RUNS INTO THE YOUR CREEKS. AS LONG AS THERE IS GRAVEL WHERE THE WATER CAN RUN OFF IT YOU WILL GET CONTAMINATION.

VIDEO: E-P-A ISSUED A FUND WAIVER BALANCE WHICH MEANS THIS PROBLEM IS SO BIG IT WILL BREAK SUPERFUND SO WE WILL LEAVE IT. THERE IS CONTAMINATION DOWN TO THE DEEP AQUIFER THAT IS BEING USED BY SEVERAL CITIES FOR THEIR DRINKING WATER.

VIDEO: THERE IS HEALTH ISSUES LIKE HEART AND KIDNEY IMPACTING OUR CHILDREN. DO I BLAME IT ALL ON THIS PLACE? I DO. WE WANT NO MORE TAR CREEKS. THEY DIDN'T FIX THIS ONE AND THEY WILL NOT FIX ANYBODY ELSE'S.

TED SIMONS: THAT EXCERPT IS JUST PART OF THE PROJECT THAT INCLUDES A DOCUMENTARY AND MORE THAN A DOZEN MULTIMEDIA STORIES AND DATABASES ON WATER POLLUTION. JOINING US NOW TO TALK ABOUT THE PROJECT IS JACQUEE PETCHEL, THE EXECUTIVE EDITOR OF NEWS-21AND JASMINE SPEARING-BOWEN, ONE OF THE 29 STUDENT-JOURNALISTS INVOLVED IN THE PROJECT. THIS PROJECT -- TALK TO US ABOUT HOW THIS GOT STARTED AND WHAT YOU WERE LOOKING FOR WHEN IT GOT STARTED?

JACQUEE PETCHEL: WHEN WE START THIS PROJECT, WHICH IS EVERY SUMMER, IT’S A NATIONAL PROJECT WHICH INCLUDES ASU STUDENTS AND STUDENTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY, MANY OF THEM GRADUATES ALREADY. WE ARE LOOKING FOR A TOPIC OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE. THIS WAS INSPIRED BY EVENTS IN FLINT AND MILWAUKEE WHERE THERE WERE ISSUES WITH WATER, PARTICULARLY IN DISADVANTAGED NEIGHBORHOODS OR COMMUNITIES OF COLOR. WE THOUGHT IT WAS WORTH TAKING A LOOK AT THE STATE OF WATER IN THE UNITED STATES.

TED SIMONS: HOW WERE THE STORIES DIVVIED UP?

JACQUEE PETCHEL: WE DID IT LARGELY BY TOPIC. I WAS INTERESTED IN INDUSTRIAL CONTAMINATION. WE DIVIDED IT UP AMONG COMMUNITIES AND WERE INTERESTED IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE SPECIFICALLY NATIVE AMERICAN LANDS AND POOR LATINO COMMUNITIES ALONG THE BORDER AND AFRICAN-AMERICANS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY WHERE WE FOUND DISPROPORTIONATE INSTANCES OF POOR WATER, AGING PIPES, AND LEAD AND DETERIORATION IN MANY MORE PLACES THAN WE THOUGHT.

TED SIMONS: INDUSTRIAL CONTAMINATION IS A BIG FACTOR. DEFINE THAT.

JASMINE SPEARING-BOWEN: WATER QUALITY IS A HUGE TOPIC. SO RIGHT AWAY WE REALLY STARTED DOING RESEARCH AND TRYING TO UNDERSTAND ALL THESE DIFFERENT KIND OF FACTORS THAT CAN AFFECT WATER QUALITY. AS PART OF THAT WE LOOKED AT INDUSTRIAL CONTAMINATION. WE LOOKED AT THE EPA SUPER FUND LIST AND THEY HAVE A LIST OF OVER 17 HUNDRED DIFFERENT SITES ACROSS THE COUNTRY WHERE THERE HAS BEEN CONTAMINATION AND TAR CREAK WAS ON THE LIST. IT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST SUPERFUND SITES THAT WAS ADDED IN THE ‘80S. THOSE ARE SITES LIKE LANDFILLLS OR MINING SITES OR SITES FROM ENERGY, PEOPLE PROVIDING JOBS AND SERVICES TO AMERICANS BUT ALSO SOME OF THEIR ACTIVITIES ARE POLLUTING THE GROUND WATER.

TED SIMONS: THE GROUND WATER IN OKLAHOMA AND KANSAS THIS IS A HUGE SITE OUT THERE. HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT GETTING THE INFORMATION? THIS IS A BIG STORY. HOW DID YOU WORK IT?

JASMINE SPEARING-BOWEN: IT IS A REALLY BIG STORY. ESSENTIALLY WHAT HAPPENED IN TAR CREEK IS THERE WAS A BUY OUT. PEOPLE DON’T ACTUALLY LIVE IN THE TOWN OF PITCHER ANYMORE. THE EPA TRIED TO CLEAN UP THE CONTAMINATION IN THE 2000S AND AS YOU SAW THEY SAID WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CLEAN UP THIS AMOUNT OF GROUND WATER CONTAMINATION AND THERE WAS CONCERNS ABOUT CAVE INS FROM THE MINING. THEY MOVED THOSE PEOPLE FROM THOSE TOWNS. NOW WE HAVE FOCUSED ON WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH THE SITE. IT CONTAMINATION IS STILL THERE AND ONGOING AS YOU SAW THE RED WATER. THAT SITE WAS LISTED AS A SUPERFUND SITE IN THE 1980s AND NOW IT’S BEEN 30 YEARS AND IT’S JUST AS CONTAMINATED NOW AS IT WAS THEN.

TED SIMONS: ARE YOU SURPRISED SO LITTLE HAS BEEN DONE? THIS SOUNDS LIKE HORRORVILLE.

JACQUEE PETCHEL: I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF HORRORVILLES FROM WHAT WE FOUND. I WASN'T SURPRISED BECAUSE I WAS A BIG ADVOCATE FOR THIS STORY. I KEPT ASKING THE QUESTION, SOME OF THESE HAVE GONE ON FOREVER AND THEY ARE INDUSTRIES THAT PROVIDED GREAT JOBS FOR AMERICANS AND PRODUCTS AND MANY OF THEM NOW CLOSED OR ABANDONED AND LEFT THE PROPER AS IS THE CASE THERE. BASICALLY I JUST TOLD THE REPORTERS THAT I WANT TO HEAR THE STORY OF THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE THERE NOW AND ARE LEFT WITH WHAT IS CONTAMINATION AND A LONG LEGACY OF INABILITY TO CLEAN IT UP. ENVIRONMENTALLY, IT IS VERY DIFFICULT AND COSTLY TO CLEAN IT UP BECAUSE IT IS SO DEEP IN THE GROUND YOU ALMOST HAVE TO MINE AGAIN TO GET THE CONTAMINATION OUT. THAT IS WHAT THEY DID. I SAID PICK THE BEST ONES, TELL ME WHAT THEY ARE, AND LET'S GO BECAUSE I WANT IT. AND THEY GOT IT.

TED SIMONS: AND YOU ALSO WORKED IN NORTH CAROLINA AS WELL. TALK TO US ABOUT THAT.

JASMINE SPEARING-BOWEN: WE WANTED TO LOOK AT LEGACY SITES. TAR CREEK WAS MINING OVER THE PAST FEW DECADES BUT THERE ARE INDUSTRIAL CONTAMINATIONS HAPPENING NOW. IN NORTH CAROLINA THERE ARE ALMOST A THOUSAND HOUSEHOLDS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN DRINKING BOTTLED WATER FOR TWO YEARS BECAUSE THEIR WELLS ARE CONTAMINATED AND PEOPLE BELIEVE IT IS BECAUSE THEY ARE LIVING NEAR COAL FIRED POWER PLANTS AND THE WASTE FROM THAT IS LEAKING INTO THE GROUND WATER AND INTO THEIR WELLS. THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO SAY IT IS AND IT ISN'T AND THE INVESTIGATION IS ONGOING AND WHILE THAT IS HAPPENING PEOPLE ARE STILL LIVING WITH BOTTLED WATER.

TED SIMONS: DUKE ENERGY IS THE LARGEST UTILITY IN THAT AREA. WHEN YOU TALK TO FOLKS IN OKLAHOMA AND KANSAS AND NORTH CAROLINA, WERE SOME AFRAID TO SPEAK? WHAT KIND OF REACTION DID YOU GET?

JASMINE SPEARING-BOWEN: I THINK IN NORTH CAROLINA PEOPLE WERE EXCITED TO TALK TO US BECAUSE THEY WANT PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THEIR WATER BUT THERE WAS A FEELING THEY WANT PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND MAYBE YOU NEED TO BE LOOKING AT YOUR WATER. MAYBE YOU THINK YOUR WATER IS OKAY AND IT MIGHT NOT BE. IT WAS ABOUT GETTING THEIR STORY OUT AND I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE BECOME ADVOCATES FOR DRINKING WATER QUALITY ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

TED SIMONS: I NOTICED THAT ARIZONA WASN'T INCLUDED IN THE STORY. WHY?

JACQUEE PETCHEL: WE WERE. WE VISITED ANOTHER SUPERFUND SITE IN GLOBE. IT IS IN A STORY ABOUT INDUSTRIAL CONTAMINATION BUT NOT THEIR OWN STORY. JASMINE WENT THERE, TOO. WE WENT TO A LOT OF PLACES AND MANY DIDN'T MAKE IT IN FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER. GLOBE DID. BUT THERE IS LIKE 63 MILLION PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY THE WATER AND IT CAN BE EVERYTHING FROM LEAD PIPES TO THE INDUSTRIAL SITES TO JUST BAD STUFF GETTING IN YOUR WATER AND NOBODY TESTING.

TED SIMONS: IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN THIS, THIS IS VERY INTERESTING AND COMPREHENSIVE. HOW CAN WE GET A BETTER LOOK AT THIS?

JACQUEE PETCHEL: IT’S TROUBLEDWATER.NEWS21.COM.

TED SIMONS: THANK YOU BOTH VERY MUCH. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. COMING UP ON ARIZONA HORIZON. THERE'S A BIG-DEAL SOLAR-ECLIPSE NEXT WEEK. WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE CELESTIAL RARITY AND THE BEST WAY TO SEE IT SAFELY.