Opinion: Government needs to communicate about water

It’s not time to panic.

Even if your water well should test positive for PFAS contamination, there are filters you can buy, and we don’t have evidence to fear the contamination has been there for long, meaning exposure has likely been limited.

But the United States Air Force — the likely cause of this contamination with chemicals found in foam used for firefighting — and state/federal health agencies are not helping alleviate concerns with their lack of response to area residents’ questions.

We’ve heard from multiple residents in the area — who believe they are impacted by the contamination — who’ve said they can’t get information about what to do.

April Bryant said she owns property near the area officials have said is a primary concern, but no one contacted her to test her water well. She became proactive, reaching out to the Department of Health, and was told she’s now on the list for testing — but she doesn’t know when.

Patti Dobson said she was notified by a state official that her water might not be safe to drink and told that her well would be tested last week. It wasn’t tested. She can’t find out why and can’t find answers to her other questions either. She collected phone numbers for multiple alphabet-soup health and water agencies over the weekend and started calling them this week.

Why is it so hard for the Air Force or the health department or the environment department or some public agency to set up a hotline and staff it with people who can answer basic questions about concerns with the water wells near Cannon Air Force Base where contamination has been confirmed?

• Will my well be tested?

• Is it safe for animals to drink the water?

• Will the government, which caused this problem, fix it? If so, when? And at whose expense?

The internet tells us PFAS — that’s Per- and Poly-Fluoroalkyl Substances — may be associated with an increased risk of cancer and health problems, including increased cholesterol, changes in the immune system, developmental delays in young children, and more.

Most research has been on animals and it’s not clear if humans will be impacted in the same way.

Officials are correct in asking residents who live near the base take special precautions.

But that generic warning is not sufficient if it’s your water hole that’s maybe been poisoned. Those folks want to see a little more sense of urgency on the part of those responsible.

“If it is so imperative that we immediately stop drinking the water and truck in water for livestock, why didn’t they come out and test the following day like they said they would?” Dobson wants to know.

“Now, it could be because they are so swamped with this mess that they are behind. But then, why not say so?”

Indeed. Communication would go a long way to alleviating area residents’ concerns.

Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the Clovis Media Inc. editorial board, which includes Editor David Stevens and Publisher Rob Langrell.