Sebring, Ohio is a small village of about 4,300 people in northeastern Ohio; nowhere near as large as Flint, Michigan and its population of over 100,000. But one thing is certain, the drinking water crisis’ in the two communities share similar, and frightening aspects.
In this latest crisis, schools were closed for the third day on Tuesday, and pregnant women and children have been advised to not drink the water. The local water treatment plant operator has been accused of falsifying reports and the Ohio State Environmental Protection Agency has asked the U.S. EPA to open a criminal investigation into what occurred in Sebring, according to eNews park Forest.
Elevated lead levels were found as far back as November, 2015, but officials failed to warn residents until last week, reports Discovery news, despite pressure from the Ohio EPA. The state agency says it has “reason to suspect that the operator falsified reports,” and has asked the U.S. EPA to conduct a criminal investigation.
The agency issued a violation to the village on Thursday after learning local officials “had failed to properly notify its customers” and had continued to fail to “provide timely and accurate information to the department’s field office.” Local residents learned of the elevated lead levels at a town meeting Thursday night.
eNews Park Forest reported that scores of people turned out for the meeting, most of them angry and frustrated, just like the people of Flint over the lack of transparency by the town. “A lot of us have kids at home, and we’re extremely afraid, and we need a mayor to stand up, be honest with us, hold people accountable and fix this problem,” said one man.
“It has become apparent that our field office was too patient in dealing with the village of Sebring’s ‘cat and mouse’ game and should have had closer scrutiny on the water system meeting its deadlines,” Ohio EPA Director Craig Butler said, as reported by MSN News.
While changes have already been made in the way the village treats its water, the agency says the water advisory won’t be lifted until the town passes two rounds of lead-free testing in six consecutive months. In the meantime, another town will have to wait and wonder while an investigation and allegations of wrong-doing plays out.
