DeLAND, Fla. – Residents in DeLand were upset Tuesday night after a meeting in which the state presented a 120-page report on levels of water contamination revealed no new information.
The state said a toxin, called Dieldrin, has contaminated the water in more than one hundred wells in the Country Club Estates neighborhood in DeLand. The contamination has likely been an issue for decades, according to residents. Neighbors told Local 6 they link spikes in cancer and thyroid issues to levels of the toxin in water they use for drinking, cooking and bathing.
Investigators say contamination likely dates back to a pest control company, fountains in the area, or pesticides used on a nearby golf course.
Last year, resident Jan Potter spoke to Local 6 about her husbands struggle with brain cancer. Even though inspectors found 116 out of 300 wells had dangerous levels of Dieldrin in the water, Potter said she has her own suspicions that more households are exposed to unhealthy water.
"We believe that because the entire aquifer is contaminated," Potter said.
Well-known environmental activist Erin Brockovich has even joined the fight for clean water in DeLand.
"There's a lot of people out there in need," Brockovich said back in October 2011.
As recently as last month state officials retested 160 wells that already negative for Dieldrin. In four of those wells they actually found dangerous levels of Dieldrin in the re-test, which could lead people to believe the problem may be getting worse.
As far as the people whose wells tested positive for dangerous levels of Dieldrin- they are now getting city water for free in their homes.