Fort Mill residents worry about possible water contamination

By Sarah-Blake Morgan, originally posted on July 29, 2016

 

Fort Mill, SC (WBTV) –

Families in Fort Mill are scared for their safety after they say one resident’s test found Coliform bacteria in their tap water.

The news comes after raw sewage flowed into some homes, causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage. Coliform, while common, is the same bacteria found in feces.

After calls from several residents, York County is testing the water in the area and told WBTV they are sure the water is safe. But until the test results come back, some families have resorted to avoiding their faucets.

Among those families are Xavier and Tammy Tufty, and their two daughters, who live in one of the houses ravaged by the sewage.

“Bottled water went into my coffee maker this morning,” Xavier said. “We’re going to be drinking bottled water until we get a clear notification that the water coming out of the tap is safe to drink.”

The county said that it does monthly testing and it’s already found the amount of chlorine in the water necessary to kill the bacteria, but the Tuftys said they’re going to play it safe.

“Unfortunately in our current situation, I can’t trust any of that,” Tammy said.

The Tuftys feel the county isn’t taking enough of an interest in the situation and they could possibly be putting their residents’ health at risk.

“There doesn’t seem to be any sort of a crisis management plan in place in York County,” Xavier said. “To think that we just paid our bill last night and we’re not sure about the water that’s coming out of the tap. I mean, it’s starting to feel like we might be in Flint Michigan or something.”

Tammy said she has told her daughters not to use water out of the out of the tap or get ice out of the freezer.

“I have no idea what is coming out of my faucet right now, absolutely no idea,” Tammy said.

WBTV will post an update once the results are released on Friday.

Learn More