Residents don't trust reports that S.C. city water is safe

DENMARK (AP) - Officials of a South Carolina city said it has safe drinking water, but a lack of trust has left residents relying on bottled water or springs outside city limits.

The Post and Courier reported Denmark officials cite state and federal reports ruling the water safe, but many in the town of 3,000 still use bottled water. They reported having brown, foul-smelling, sediment-filled water last year.

The founder of the Denmark Citizens for Safe Water group, Deanna Miller-Berry, said there are no quality tests residents would believe. She said her group distributes bottled water to more than 1,000 people each month.

Denmark for years used a pool disinfectant not approved by the Environmental Protection Agency in an area drinking water well. That well was taken offline and the chemical never touched the city's remaining three drinking wells, but for some, the damage was already done.