Water is a basic building block of life. But in West Virginia, it’s a devastating stumbling block. Water quality is too poor for human consumption throughout wide swaths of the Mountain State populated by some of the nation’s poorest people.
Drawing from an exhaustive analysis of federal data and uncovering data through independent testing not accounted for in state or federal oversight, the Charleston Gazette-Mail will break new ground in identifying and contextualizing public health threats in West Virginians’ water.
This series will expose critical gaps in water quality regulations; provide new, independent water testing results that shed light on contamination hot spots; and will amplify the voices of West Virginians whose poor drinking water quality has left them distrustful of their government.
In addition, those responsible for contributing to and guarding against the pervasive water quality violations will be called on to answer for the threats.
