Residents living near the Minute Maid plant in Paw Paw, Mich., have been told to stop drinking water from the tap and start drinking bottled water.
The plant, owned by Coca Cola, has been spraying wastewater into the soil for 23 years. The wastewater has been contaminating wells in the area, and the company has taken responsibility.
According to WWMT.com some residents living about a half mile from the Coca Cola plant received letters stating their well water contained too many metals.
Since the plant has been spraying wastewater into the ground, over time, the water has decomposed, pulling oxygen from the soil. Without the oxygen, the groundwater is exposed to natural metals.
To remedy the situation, Coke has gotten together with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to build a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant. Also, local residents are getting their water from a dispenser provided by Coke.
WWMT.com reports that a larger solution might be for Coke to drill new wells for every house. However, this probably would not happen until next year.
Source: WWMT.com