Tainted Tap Water

Steve Stoler reports

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ARTESIA, Texas — Residents of this Denton County community near Prosper say their tap water stinks. But that's not the biggest problem.

It also leaves marks on clothes, silverware and dishes. They say the water is so bad, they won't even give it to their pets.

An engineering consultant hired by Denton County Fresh Water Supply District No. 10 said the water contains high sodium content from the Trinity Aquifer.

Melinda Kirl is frustrated. She said the well water is ruining her silverware and her laundry. "The laundry's not clean; it has rust spots on the whites," she said. "The whites don't come out white any more."

Kirl said the water tastes bad and has a pungent odor, so her family is buying its drinking water in big jugs. "We don't even give it to our dogs," she said. "We give them bottled water."

Kristen Guilford showed us her cat's water dish, pointing out the tap water salt residue lining the bottom.

"To make tea, you have to either use bottled water or boil it for a long time to get a lot of the chemical taste out of it — even something simple like tea," Guilford said.

Homeowners said they've had to replace air conditioner parts because well water splashing from nearby sprinklers has corroded the coils.

"It's hard to keep the outdoor landscape plants alive," Kirl added. "We've had to replace them several times."

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality cited the water district in September for high levels of "dissolved solids and chlorides." TCEQ officials say the deeper the wells, the higher the likelihood of salt. So the water district moved its well closer to the to the surface, and that has improved the quality.

The water district board will hold a meeting in Artesia on April 16. Homeowners say they'll be there to voice their frustrations.

"If I would have known the water was this bad out here when we moved out here, I wouldn't have bought a refrigerator that had the ice and water in the door," Kirl said.

One water board member told News 8 they will pursue every available option to improve the quality of tap water for Artesia residents.

E-mail sstoler@wfaa.com