So alarms went off after state environmental officials and the Tennessee Valley Authority revealed this week that high levels of arsenic and lead had been found in groundwater beneath the coal-fired Allen Fossil Plant in southwest Memphis.
The toxins were detected in wells where pollution is monitored from ponds that hold coal ash — the dirty byproduct left from burning coal to generate electricity.
Next year, the TVA plans to pump 3.5 million gallons (13.2 million liters) of water out of the aquifer per day to cool a natural gas power plant that is replacing the aging Allen coal plant.
Nonetheless, the department has asked Memphis Light, Gas & Water — the city’s water utility — to test treated drinking water.
His county is home to more than 900,000 residents and has Memphis as its seat.
"TVA’s plan to pump Memphis Sand Aquifer water from beneath this contaminated site is irresponsible and endangers our drinking water supply."
Collins acknowledged the public alarm, adding, "They are very proud of the drinking water here in Memphis."
Part of the concern is the TVA’s history of handling coal ash ponds.
The utility has been sued by environmental groups that allege that coal ash ponds from its coal-fired power plant in Gallatin, Tennessee, are seeping pollution into the Cumberland River, violating the Clean Water Act.
The TVA since has invested billions of dollars in safer ways to store coal ash.

Melting Ice Sheets Are Releasing Toxins in Our Water — Bacteria Could Take Some of That Out of Play.
But the problem — and the possibility of microbial help — has significance for anyone on the planet.
Rivers of water flow over and through the sheet and out into the ocean, as shown below in a video taken by a UCLA research term during the massive Greenland ice sheet melt of 2012.
In addition to water, the Greenland ice sheet is also home to contaminants from locations around the world — stored in the "cryosphere."
The cryosphere is the habitat of frozen water, snow, and ice, that cover many parts of the planet.
Part of the life in the cryosphere of the Greenland ice sheet is microbial, and it is called " cryoconite."
The toxic tide of human pollutants finds itself partly written in the ice sheets of Greenland, and seems to be mixing it up with its foxhole partners, the icy microbes that live there.
Partial research findings include: Some microbes already identified from contaminated environments in other regions of the world are related to organisms found in these samples.
Other bacteria located in the ice sheet samples are related to microbes less sensitive to lead, arsenic, and possibly copper.
The study found that microbial communities from all the sampling sites in the Greenland ice sheet showed some ability to resist, or remediate, contamination melting out of the ice.

Melting Ice Sheets Are Releasing Toxins in Our Water — Bacteria Could Take Some of That Out of Play.
But the problem — and the possibility of microbial help — has significance for anyone on the planet.
Rivers of water flow over and through the sheet and out into the ocean, as shown below in a video taken by a UCLA research term during the massive Greenland ice sheet melt of 2012.
In addition to water, the Greenland ice sheet is also home to contaminants from locations around the world — stored in the "cryosphere."
The cryosphere is the habitat of frozen water, snow, and ice, that cover many parts of the planet.
Part of the life in the cryosphere of the Greenland ice sheet is microbial, and it is called " cryoconite."
The toxic tide of human pollutants finds itself partly written in the ice sheets of Greenland, and seems to be mixing it up with its foxhole partners, the icy microbes that live there.
Partial research findings include: Some microbes already identified from contaminated environments in other regions of the world are related to organisms found in these samples.
Other bacteria located in the ice sheet samples are related to microbes less sensitive to lead, arsenic, and possibly copper.
The study found that microbial communities from all the sampling sites in the Greenland ice sheet showed some ability to resist, or remediate, contamination melting out of the ice.

Kathleen Cuddy, director of the Cayuga County Health Department, said municipalities are not required to provide their residents drinking water, but every one who buys water from the town of Owasco or city of Auburn plan to do so if needed.
If the order is issued, that information is shared with the state Department of Health’s Bureau of Water Supply Protection.
Despite these plans, Cuddy encouraged people, if they are able, to stow a supply of drinking water for any emergency.
Large facilities in the area that house many people also are working with the health department on emergency water plans.
The health department and the majority of municipalities who buy water from the city of Auburn and town of Owasco, shared their prospective water distribution sites and whether they would supply bottled water or utilize a bulk water hauler with The Citizen.
Owasco Fire Station 1, 7174 Owasco Road 2.
Owasco Fire Station 2, 4881 Twelve Corners Road Bottled and bulk water Aurelius 1.
Cayuga Memorial Hall, 6200 Center St. Bottled and bulk water Fleming 1.
Turnpike Road and State Street Bottled and bulk water Cayuga County Water and Sewer Authority Cayuga County Soil and Water Conservation District, 7413 County House Road Bulk water Brutus 1.
Bulk water NYS Thruway Port Byron Area restaurants Bulk water Fleming 1.

Water systems respond to report of toxin in area water supply.
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Water providers are trying to reassure customers after a StarNews report about a toxin discovered in the system that serves about 200,000 people in the area with drinking water.
The newspaper reported yesterday that GenX, a chemical replacement for a key ingredient in Teflon, has been found in the drinking water system of the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority.
Brunswick County Public Utilities (BCPU) said in a news release its water “meets all EPA and state standards regarding water quality, including monitoring for the presence and concentration of dozens of different chemicals and substances, with the results of more than 25 of those substances reported annually.
The county-run utility said local utilities have asked state regulators for more information.
H2Go also says its water meets all state and federal guidelines.
But H2Go says it may have a solution other providers don’t in trying to rid water of the toxin: its plan to build a reverse osmosis water treatment facility, which has been the topic of much debate recently.
“The decision to move forward with deep-well groundwater supplies and reverse osmosis water treatment eliminates the threat of these emerging unregulated contaminates.
The reverse osmosis water treatment plant will eliminate our dependence on the Cape Fear River, will improve drinking water quality, will maintain customer water rates at or below existing rates, and will ensure the long-term financial viability of the utility.” But in just the last several days there have been strong attempts at blocking H2Go’s plan for the $30 million plant.
Also this week, the Town of Leland said it is appealing a state permit issued for H2Go to build the reverse osmosis plant citing concerns about waste discharge from the plant into the Brunswick River.