Pleas for county water continue

The demand for county water continues to grow, as the number of people taking to the podium at the Sampson County Board of Commissioners’ meeting Monday night spread to include comments from western Sampson County residents.

The commissioners held their first meeting of the year Monday. The Jan 6 meeting was only the second meeting since the new board was formed on Dec. 2, 2024. The meeting consisted of naming a private road, a couple of board appointments and public comments from county residents seeking clean water.

In a matter of 25 minutes, the board moved through the agenda, including public comments.

During the public comment section of the meeting, Old Warsaw Road resident Elaine Hunt returned to discuss her request for county water to be extended to her community.

“You know why I’m up here,” Hunt began. “I reached out to the state, and received various emails in regards to what we can do — each one told me like I realized, I can’t apply for a grant, but the Sampson County Board of Commissioners can.”

She said the various employees with the state were kind and prompt to come out and test the water. The results showed that 14 out of 16 of the residents who had their water tested had been returned, and half of the 14 have PFAS.

PFAS are also known as “forever chemicals” because they do not break down easily in the environment or the human body. PFAS have been linked to health problems, including certain cancers.

“The state is helping us all they can,” added Hunt. “We’re asking you to help us more than you have been.”

She thanked Sampson County Public Works Director Mark Turlington for staying in touch with her over time, but noted to the commissioners that serious dangers and hardships are being faced by residents on well water.

“Some of us can’t eat, can’t drink, can’t cook because of the PFAS in the water. We’re asking you to help us get county water like I’m sure most of you have.”

Those same sentiments were echoed by Antoinette James who lives near Roseboro and has for over 20 years. Like Hunt, she said, she has dealt with well water problems.

“I can remember a time when well water was the best thing since slice bread; now it no longer is,” stated James as she addressed the commissioners.

James said she was also told by state officials not to drink or cook with the water.

“Over the years, well water went from being this good thing, clean thing, to significantly worse,” James noted, adding that she was on her tenth day without water due to rust in the well. She will now have to figure out how to pay to drill another well.

“It’s not fair we have to eat the cost, and we want to be plugged into county water,” she added. “I hope this reaches someone on this panel that cares, and leads us in the right direction, because it’s not fair to us — as taxpayers — that we can’t get clean drinking water, to cook with, and when you wash your clothes and they come out a different color,” she said before her three-minute time limit expired.

Jay Ingram, of the Old Mintz Highway area of Roseboro, also spoke on the water issue. “I was told we were turned down twice (for grants), but I wasn’t told the reason. This is serious,” he said. “The bottom line is, PFAS is in the ground, but what I don’t understand is why? Some people tell you that you have to pay for this and we have no control over this. Everyone deserves to have clean water and clean air.”

Ingram let his frustration out. “Well water used to be good, but then technology came in to grow crops,” he attested, mentioning how some small farmers can’t sell their crops because they’re “infected” with PFAS. “People shouldn’t have to spend $25 to do laundry at a laundry mat. We’ve been here since before y’all ,and tell me how that’s fair?”

Larry Sutton then took his turn to speak to the county commissioners, stating, “Let me just start by saying the county has a problem. The problem is having access to clean drinking water. I have access to county water where I reside,” he explained, “but I am here on behalf of Ms. Hunt, and anyone else that needs clean drinking water.”

Sutton’s voice grew louder as he continued, “The county has a problem and this problem will continue to grow. This problem will worsen, you will have more Elaine Hunts up here, and more other speakers up here. This problem is not going away anytime soon; it will worsen, and I applaud those coming up here to get your attention to get them clean water.”

As has been their normal procedure, commissioners did not respond to the residents other than to thank them for coming. Although chairman Allen McLamb has said commissioners would take public comments under consideration and discuss at the next month’s meeting, they did not address Hunt’s comments from December.

In other business, the commissioners approved, among other general items, a request to allow the library to discard material from the collections of the Sampson-Clinton Public Library System due to damage, disuse, or out-of-date or inaccurate information.

They also authorized the execution of a professional services agreement between Sampson County and recently appointed interim county manager Jeffery Hudson’s limited liability company, NCMCS, LLC, for interim county manager services.

GIS coordinator Jessie Matthews presented the board with a request to rename a private road, PVT 1135-3132, Cromartie Bell Lane, which was approved unanimously.

The Sampson County Board of Commissioners’ meeting concluded after 25 minutes, with no closed session this time.