Sure, most people aren't drinking from the river, but farmers out that way have livestock that do, and if not from the river directly, from ponds on their land that have been poisoned (or not?) by the sludge. And--not to point out the obvious--but folks that live on the river generally have dogs. How would you like to keep your labs out of the river when they are used to that being part of the their lifestyle? And, of course the waterfowl and the turtles and the deer and the fish and the foxes...and the trees and the plants. All these things depend on the land or the river for their existence. And, all these things are part of the special quality of life in Swan Pond.

Sure, most people aren't drinking from the river, but farmers out that way have livestock that do, and if not from the river directly, from ponds on their land that have been poisoned (or not?) by the sludge. And--not to point out the obvious--but folks that live on the river generally have dogs. How would you like to keep your labs out of the river when they are used to that being part of the their lifestyle? And, of course the waterfowl and the turtles and the deer and the fish and the foxes...and the trees and the plants. All these things depend on the land or the river for their existence.

Those are all excellent points.

Unfortunately, when big coal is willing to write off entire communities, fish and wildlife are way down the list of priorities.

Livestock and pets are probably a little further up the list, but everyone up there is in triage mode at this point and four-legged critters are probably seen as expendable and replaceable at this point.

Not that that's right or anything.

I personally think we should waterboard Tom Kilgore with some tap water from the surrounding area. We'll see how they feel after CEO boy gets a few big gulpers of that nice "clean" water.

While exploring the link to water filters that R. Neal provided, I discovered a link to this info regarding arsenic: (link...)

Check out footnotes #2 & #5! Don't know if this is the current standard or not, but if I lived nearby, I'd be worried!

If I understand correctly, the intake for the Kingston water supply is on the Tennessee River above the confluence with the Clinch, so for contaminants to enter the water supply, they would have to travel a ways downriver from the spill then manage to travel upriver to the intake, which is not very likely. The spring intake is a different story, but it's a minor source that can be monitored and shut off if it is drawing in contaminants. I don't think there is any credible concern about tap water apart from the few people nearby who use private wells. Their risk is highly dependent on the depth and location of the well.

Animals in the river or drinking from the river are a concern, and I hope TVA is making efforts to clear a channel for Swan Pond Creek and isolate as much of the ash from natural channels as possible while they figure out how to transport it to a permanent disposal site. Water flow is what is going to cleanse and dilute the toxins and restore normal conditions for wildlife.

Airborne dust seems to be a greater concern for terrestrial animals, as they can not only breathe it, but also consume it as dust settles on pastures and plants.