Gloria Murray grew up in Hilton Head, South Carolina. She said the septic system on the island was “disastrous.” (Photo by Bryn Caswell/News21)

HILTON HEAD, S.C. – Gloria Murray spent 20 years dealing with the consequences of a faulty septic system on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

She grew up on the island, which is often described as “paradise” by tourists, with its sandy beaches and gated golf resorts. But for many native islanders such as Murray, everyday life on Hilton Head was often more hellish than heavenly because of the septic situation.

“When it rained, it actually filled up the (septic) system,” she said. “The drainfield got clogged up at the end of the line, so there was no place for any of the water to go except come up on the ground or back up in my house.”

Murray told News21 that it was “disastrous” bringing up three children in that environment. Water would regularly gurgle up from the drain in the bathtub, while they sometimes could not flush the toilet for hours.

When it rained, the water wouldn’t drain properly, and the house would become flooded. The septic system had to be fixed “every three months” before the Murrays finally connected to the public sewer system in November 2016.

Murray told News21 that she had “religiously” lobbied Hilton Head’s Public Service District before they got the connection. “For 20 years, I have been checking to make sure when they came through here with the infrastructure that I would be first on their list,” she said.

Soil conditions on the island aren’t suitable for septic systems because of excessive drainage in some parts and a lack of drainage in others, said Pete Nardi, general manager of Hilton Head  Public Service District.

The town has allocated more than $10 million to bring sewer lines to unserved areas, but that funding won’t cover all residents immediately.

Nardi is part of the Sewer Access For Everyone project, a collaborative effort with Hilton Head town and Community Foundation of the Lowcountry. The initiative aims to connect all island residents to sewer by 2020.

Mario Martinez and his family, who live in Hilton Head, South Carolina, must live with a septic system that frequently breaks down. (Bryn Caswell/News21)

The foundation raised $3 million to hook up 1,000 low-income homes to public sewer. Residents can apply for grants to help cover the expense.

“There will still be some places where the town funding won’t be at play,” Nardi said. “That’s what we’re tackling with Project SAFE: using that charitable effort to get the low-moderate income homeowners connected.”

Mayor David Bennett said the aim of the project was to give everyone who desires public sewer the ability to connect to it.

“First, we are getting the infrastructure in place for individuals to connect to,” Bennett said. “Our hope is that everyone will connect to that. If that doesn’t happen, then I suspect the town council will come back and look around at a policy of requiring everyone to tap on to the sewer system.”

But Murray said the project will take a long time: “Four years is not a long time. But if you have (septic) issues, it seems like a lifetime.”

“These 30-year-old septic tanks, (they’re) going to become a hazard before too long,” she told News21. “It’s going to cause lots of illness and sickness if we don’t take care of it.”

However, there are still people who will not be eligible for the grant given the fact that Project SAFE is for “owner occupied” households, Nardi said.

Landscaper Mario Martinez has lived in the community for four years, and he has yet to be hooked up to public sewer.

“There’s a certain level on the water where it just stops working,” he said. “Nothing works until the (water) level goes down.”

“We just basically have to wait (to shower),” he added. “The toilets don’t flush. The water doesn’t go away. It just stays there.”

Martinez cannot connect his family to public sewer because he is renting his home on Darling Road. This means he cannot apply for a SAFE grant.

To see the full News21 report on “Troubled Water,” go to troubledwater.news21.com on Aug. 14.

The post Hilton Head residents’ ‘paradise’ marred by faulty septic systems appeared first on Troubled Water.

Andree Davis stands in front of her home in Walnut Cove, North Carolina. Davis said she believes her well water has caused dark spots on her skin. (Photo by Jasmine Spearing-Bowen/News21)

WALNUT COVE, N.C. – Andree Davis said she tries not to go out in public: She’s afraid of how people will react when they see her.

The 67-year-old North Carolina resident has dark spots all over her body. Davis said when she absolutely has to leave her house, she always wears long sleeves and pants – even in the hottest weather.

“I started getting all these spots, and I thought it was the water of course, but I couldn’t prove it,” she said. “It’s everywhere – like on my stomach and just everywhere. It’s unbelievable.”

She moved from South Carolina to Walnut Cove in 2007 after inheriting family property. In 2012, she started developing the spots. Davis said new spots only appear when she showers with the water from her well. For a while, she showered at a nearby hotel and said she didn’t get any new spots, but the hotel became too expensive.

Davis blames her well water because she knows it contains chemicals such as chromium 6 and vanadium. In 2015, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality sent notices to nearly 1,000 households located near coal-fired power plants across the state advising them to use bottled water for drinking, cooking and brushing their teeth. The water wasn’t safe, the notice said, but it didn’t indicate the source of the pollutants.

Residents later received a second letter telling them their water was OK to drink, leaving many residents unsure of whether or not their water was safe.

Davis lives next to a Duke Energy power plant that burns coal and creates a byproduct referred to as coal ash. Companies often store this type of waste in large pits called impoundments, usually near waterways.

Duke Energy officials said they plan to excavate coal ash ponds at eight of its 14 plants across the state. However, the company plans to leave coal ash at Belews Creek Steam Plant (pictured here) near Walnut Cove, North Carolina. (Photo by Chelsea Ray Ybanez/News21)

Duke spokeswoman Paige Sheehan said the company is not the source of well pollution. However, the state passed legislation, the Coal Ash Management Act in 2014 and House Bill 630 in 2016, that requires Duke to close all coal ash impoundments, either by digging it up and storing it elsewhere or by putting a protective covering over the ash and leaving it where it is, a practice known as capping-in-place.

Environmental groups across North Carolina have pushed Duke to dig up the coal ash the company has stored in ponds across the state. Duke has roughly 150 million tons impounded in the state, a company spokeswoman said in an email.

Duke officials said they plan to excavate coal ash ponds at eight of the 14 plants across the state, but the company plans to leave coal ash in place at several locations, including Belews Creek Steam Plant near Walnut Cove, where Davis lives.

As part of the state legislation, Duke must provide alternative drinking water sources, in the form of city water or filtration systems, to anyone living within half a mile of its coal-fired power plants. Duke has until 2018 to provide the alternative water sources, and it has been providing bottled water for residents since 2015.

The company also has offered affected coal-plant neighbors an optional $5,000 payment and money to offset other costs, but accepting it means waiving their rights to sue Duke in the future.

Tracey Edwards, a Walnut Cove resident, said nobody she knows plans to take the money because “people aren’t that stupid.” She believes coal ash is the source of the chemicals in the water.

“You’re trying to be a good so called ‘neighbor’ by providing water, who does that? If you aren’t guilty, why are you getting involved at all? Am I right or wrong? Why would you give all these people, for this period of time, all this free water?” Edwards said. “That’s not being a good neighbor. You’re guilty, and you’re trying to buy people off, simple as that.”

Tracey Edwards stands in the front yard of her home in Walnut Cove, North Carolina. She blames coal ash for contaminanting the water in her community. (Photo by Jasmine Spearing-Bowen/News21)

Debra Watts, from the North Carolina Division of Water Resources, said they are still working on site assessments to determine the source of the contamination. But the state legislation mandating Duke provide water to residents near coal ash was a protective measure, she said.

Duke will connect residents to city water if they live in more urban areas such as Belmont. But for rural areas such as Walnut Cove and Roxboro, Sheehan said the residents live too far from city water sources to provide water, and filtration systems are the best and most cost effective option.

Cathy Cralle Jones, an attorney representing some residents, said access to city water is important for the future of these communities.

“It brings value to that community, to be able to embrace future development,” she said. “If filtration systems are the only option for those communities, in my perspective, those areas are doomed to long-term economic depression.”

She also said rural communities are at a disadvantage because they don’t have as strong a voice as some more populated areas.

“It is just harder for these more rural communities to organize in the same way,” she said. “I do think there is a low-income, racial component that has prevented the kind of attention and equity for these plants versus the more urban settings.”

Davis saw a doctor about her skin condition initially, but she said none of the creams they prescribed helped clear up her spots.

She was in the process of selling her home when she got her letter. Davis said she feels stuck in a house she can’t sell because of the contaminated well.

She spent a large portion of her retirement savings on fixing up the house, and can’t afford to move until it’s sold. Davis said she feels like she’s in prison.

“I’m not going to say I haven’t been through things, but I can work them out and take care of them,” she said. “But this is non-ending. And I don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel. And I don’t want to end up this being my final resting place.”

Come back Aug. 14 to see the full News21 report on “Troubled Water.”

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