SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — Several people living in Deep Creek, just west of Airway Heights, say they have PFAS-contaminated water, but they aren’t sure who’s responsible for cleaning it.
Deep Creek is just a few miles away from Fairchild Air Force Base, which is being held responsible for putting PFAS into the local water supply. The so-called “forever chemicals” are used in several industrial products, including firefighting foam.
Jean Coultas had her well tested last year for PFAS and confirmed it was contaminated. She suspected Fairchild was to blame and called the base.
“[They] hung up on me. ‘That’s Medical Lake’s problem.’ So they’re throwing it back and forth,” Coultas said.
Coultas says she hasn’t been able to get in contact with anyone about fixing this problem of getting PFAS filtered out of her water. So she’s resorted to getting it done on her own dime. She feels like she’s stuck doing that for the foreseeable future.
“Normally you get it changed every six months. I have to do it every three. That’s $300 for him to come out and do that,” Coultas said.
Researchers at Eastern Washington University that are studying where PFAS are spreading believe it’s unlikely the chemicals in Coultas’ water are from Fairchild.
The West Plains Water Coalition says recent tests of the water also found PFAS near a local fire station.
“Is the PFAS detected at the fire station just at the fire station? Or is it in the neighborhood? So her suspicion may be aimed towards the Fire District 10 rather than at Fairchild,” said John Hancock, president of the West Plains Water Coalition.
The coalition says it would be possible to test samples of water from the fire station and Fairchild to see if there’s a chemical difference in the PFAS found in each place. That could determine who is responsible for the contamination in Deep Creek.
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