“98% of the people I’ve seen on Prenter Rd have Gall Bladder Disease. Children’s teeth are dissolving.”

Pam Johnson, RN

Imagine you wake up to get a glass of water, turn on the tap, and the water runs black. This happens every day in Prenter, West Virginia, a small mountain community of 300 households nestled in the Coal River Valley of southern West Virginia.

While always a coal mining town, today Prenter is surrounded by 11,000 acres of massive mining operations — Mountain Top Removal mines, processing plants and huge toxic sludge ponds. Unsurprisingly, the health problems in this community are also massive: from kidney and liver failure to Parkinson’s-like neurological problems, from common respiratory illnesses that last for years despite treatment to many different cancers. On a single 300 yard stretch of road, five people were diagnosed with brain tumors. Nearly every family has someone in and out of the hospital.

Years ago, the companies were given permission to pump toxic waste into abandoned underground mines – right near Prenter’s groundwater. They were supposed to stop in 1984, but they were caught doing it illegally as recently as 2001. Today’s mining operations still generate endless tons of toxic sludge – that is seeping into the ground. The companies say it’s safe. How can that be? Black and grey flecks of toxic heavy metals flow from the tap. The overwhelming stench of rotten eggs (hydrogen sulfide, a corrosive and neurotoxic gas) pervades houses. You can watch a video here of what the water in one home does to a penny… on a good day.

A coalition of Prenter residents and other concerned citizens, with help from professional scientists are working on scientific studies, community health projects, and legal actions to prove that their water has been ruined by mining company operations. (Read more about the impact of Coal Sludge at The Sludge Safety Project.)

Meanwhile, the people of Prenter need clean water. They’ve been promised a connection to clean municipal water in 2-3 years. More folks are getting sick every day. How many people will be sick in 2 – 3 years?

Instead of waiting, Prenter residents are helping themselves. Partnering with Coal River Mountain Watch, they have devised the Prenter Water Fund–a program to truck in clean drinking water. Clean municipal water is available from a nearby town. But the water must be shipped and stored. Water barrels have been set at each house requesting the service and a Prenter resident has been hired to drive a truck to deliver the water. Thanks to a generous donation from the Vivian and Paul Olum Charitable Foundation and smaller donations from people like you, we have all the equipment needed. All we need to make this vital service a reality is the money to pay our driver and gas expenses. With your donations, water delivery can begin for over 180 Prenter residents RIGHT NOW. This is not a permanent solution, but the people of Prenter cannot wait. The situation is dire. In the richest country on Earth, citizens are dying for clean water. You can help by visiting the Prenter Water Fund or by writing a check to Prenter Water Project:

c/o Coal River Mountain Watch, PO Box 651, Whitesville, West Virginia 25209.