Hundreds of people worried about the water they drink, bathe in and give to their animals packed the Medical Lake High School gym Tuesday night to demand answers.
Officials determined last week that some wells near Fairchild Air Force Base, including three wells that serve the Airway Heights public water system, have been contaminated by perfluorinated compounds found in the firefighting foam used on the base for decades.
Health and environmental experts were available for one-on-one questions, but some people in the crowd were so thirsty for answers that they shouted out their questions anyway.
Julie Dibble’s family has lived on 10 acres on Thorpe Road just outside Fairchild Air Force Base since the 1960s.
They have three wells on their property and one tested at 5,700 parts per trillion.
She said her family was told of the test results and given bottled water.
“We’re contaminated,” she said.
He noted that his airmen live and work in Airway Heights and said he notified Airway Heights of the contamination in their wells the same day the test results came back.
Once the city water system has been flushed and refilled with clean water from the city’s remaining well and a hookup to the city of Spokane’s water supply, officials will stop handing out bottled water.
Filter systems can be installed in city and private wells to reduce the level of contamination in the water.