David Pleasant

You know the cliché – all politics are local. Well, the same applies for muck. But first, a word of caution. If you’re eating breakfast or at your desk enjoying that expensive Gingersnap Latte you just purchased at Starbucks, this story may interfere with that.

Is your drinking water safe? Does your local or state government have adequate funds and controls to ensure the many services they deliver to and for you are safe?

A state and federal investigation has been initiated over allegations that the waste-water treatment plant for the City of Columbia, SC dumped raw sewage into a nearby river, the Congaree. The Congaree also serves as a source of water for the city, however according to the local paper, The State, the alleged dumping was “downstream from the city’s water plant.”

Adam Beam of The State reported that yesterday “20 DHEC [S.C.'s Department of Health and Environmental Control] and EPA agents raided the city’s sewer plant.” According to Beam’s report, “The investigation focuses on Columbia and Data Resources, a company that tests the levels of fecal coliform and toxins the city puts into the river from its Metro Wastewater Treatment Plant.”

One can speculate on the many reasons why the test results would be tampered with, but no one can doubt how utterly despicable and dangerous the dumping of raw sewage into a major river in the state is.

One of the Data Resources former employees said if the plant had extra wastewater, its workers would dump the water illegally in order to meet requirements for the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.

[A former Data Sources] employee said “he collected fecal samples at the plant and saw ‘crap’ floating in the bottle. He said once Data Resources, Inc. would test the sample, the results ‘mysteriously’ came back clean,” according to the search warrant.

The former Data Resources employees also accused one of Columbia’s sewer plant managers of having employees tamper with chlorine readings “once or twice per week” until they were within state and federal limits.

Presuming the allegations are found to be true, the culpability of government officials in this matter appears to potentially far outweigh — but not dismiss — the complicity of those at Data Resources.

Data Resources didn’t report false results for any small reason. Moreover, if this is somehow related to the economy wreaking havoc with the plant’s operating budget, that’s an even bigger story. Embezzlement and kickbacks are commonplace, but if the infrastructure is systemically compromised due to budget shortfalls, well, you get the picture.

Is this isolated or are similar situations occurring in other operational areas or geographical regions of the government (local, state, and federal)? Is your drinking water or other infrastructure-related “services” safe?