1/9/2004
Longwall mining damage pictures of new house.

Diary Entry:

I have had no peace of mind since longwall undermining caused the devastating diminution of my original water supply, a drilled water well. As drilled it had a 2.25 gal./minute recovery rate. Following the effects of subsidence, on July 24, 2003 Quality Environmental Services drew the well down and measured the recovery rate at .1 gal/minute, indicating that the well is no longer a viable water supply. The temporary water supply, which was forced on me, over my serious objections, by Ohio Valley Coal Company, consists of a 1700 gal. tank buried in the ground and plumbed into the house. Being underground and because that system was to be sealed by caulking, I believed that the potential existed for serious problems. At that time I offered to settle the water issue with OVCC. I requested that they hook this house up to the Belmont County water line, which runs along the state highway across from the house. OVCC refused to do that, insisting that the buried tank was what they were using and I had no choice in the matter. Was this an economy decision for the coal company? Each load of 1000 gals. of delivered water costs up to $140. Belmont County water costs about $12 for the first 3000 gallons, with the next 7000 gallons at a rate of approximately $3.75/1000gals. In addition I was assured that the underground tank system would provide me with whole house safe drinking water, chlorine free, with the installation of a charcoal filter. Water tests were taken indicating that the water was safe and chlorine free following installation. However, as time passed, and experiencing substantial rains, the water supply in the house was cloudy. The inline filter was changed a number of times but the water was never perfectly clear. I requested on no less than 11 occasions that it be re-tested for safe quality. On July 23, following a heavy rain, the water, coming from my kitchen tap, was very dirty in appearance. I called the plumbing contractor who passed that information on to OVCC. On July 24 they finally ordered another quality test and it proved to be contaminated with E. coli and coliform bacteria. Obviously surface water was entering the system, and no doubt had been for some time, as per the observed cloudiness of the water. QES purged the system with chlorine, flushed and refilled the tank on July 26, 2003. An ultra-violet light was then included in the system and the top was dug out in an attempt to re-seal the riser. Since that time the water coming in from the tank has tested positive for coliform bacteria on two occasions, but the water circulating through the house, past the UV light, has tested safe. For a time there were problems with the UV light monitor indicating that it might not be working properly. Since water tests are done occasionally, and the results not reported until the next day, if the UV light were to malfunction we could still be subjected to contaminated water. In addition, I have run out of water three times, and that could happen again. On a number of occasions I have had to call twice to get a delivery. During dangerous road conditions, the water delivery service does not travel, which is perfectly understandable. Finally, the stress of worrying about the availability of water, or lack thereof, and the possibility of unsafe water, only adds to the ever-present stress of dealing with the serious damage to one's home. The rebuilding of this house will be a major project. The disruption and inconvenience of being uprooted, moving everything out, with storage in a temperature and moisture controlled facility, easily accessible, during the process of rebuilding, is a necessity. When the rebuilding occurs, dated pictures will be taken and will appear on the www.countrymilefarm.com website for the public to view.
Note: The new above-ground temporary water tank installations were intended to eliminate any issues with E. coli and coliform bacteria caused by the underground tank installations. However, this has not proven to be the case. On 1/7/2004 the new above ground tank at the James Kinney Farmstead main house was also found to be contaminated with coliform bacteria.

Shirley Simpson