Some residents in Middleway, West Virginia, are concerned that a proposed bottled water packaging facility could disrupt underground toxic chemicals and feared it might contaminate local well water.

Newsweek reached out to Mountain Pure, the bottled water company, by online contact form for comment.

Why It Matters

Recently, attention has turned to drinking water’s quality nationwide, particularly in terms of the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in the water. PFAS can cause harm in high quantities.

However, other chemicals and compounds can also affect drinking water and make it dangerous for humans. In Middleway, West Virginia, toxic chemicals have leaked into the ground at a vacant site recently acquired by Mountain Pure. The company now hopes to construct a new facility to bottle spring water pumped from nearby Lake Louise, prompting concerns among locals.

What to Know

Mountain Pure has proposed a “state-of-the-art water package facility” in Middleway, according to a company webpage. The project aims to create long-term jobs and improve the local economy.

The site for the proposed facility has stood vacant for 19 years. It was previously occupied by companies such as 3M and Kodak. During that time, dangerous chemicals including trichloroethylene and dichloroethylene contaminated the site, according to a report by WUSA 9. Now, strict limitations are in place for future development. The contamination is confined underground, and the state requires it remain undisturbed.

Mountain Pure’s proposal is to draw spring water from the nearby Lake Louise and then bottle it at a new facility on the contaminated site.

Locals are worried that the unique underground geology of the area might allow the chemicals to migrate during heavy pumping from Lake Louise, but Mountain Pure hydrologist Nicholas Wolfe claimed that the contaminated site is separated from the water’s extraction site by geological formations.

However, local residents aren’t confident that’s the case. The locals also are concerned that excessive amounts of water drawn from Lake Louise will impact the quality of their well water, which comes from the same body of water.

Mountain Pure recently utilized a test well to pump high amounts of water from Lake Louise, WUSA 9 reported, and residents said they noticed an impact, such as wetlands receding the lake’s water levels falling. However, Wolfe said there was hardly any impact to lake, and the levels at nearby monitoring wells only fell a few inches.

What People Are Saying

Mountain Pure hydrologist Nicholas Wolfe said in the WUSA 9 report: “The production well is approximately a mile-and-a-half to the east of the site, and there’s multiple different geological formations that separate the contaminated portion of the site to where the extraction well will be.”

Local resident Stacy Chapman said in the report: “We’re afraid it’s going to diminish the water that’s available for our wells. And we’re worried that that toxic plume will move and our wells will be contaminated. And all we’ve asked for is studies. We’ve asked for them to study the feasibility of what they’re doing and assure us that what we fear won’t happen.”

What Happens Next

The proposal has not yet been approved by local officials, and the Jefferson County Planning Commission will hold a hearing for it on March 11.