OH residents raise concerns about injection wells near Marietta aquifers

By Farah Siddiqi

A growing number of Washington County residents are raising concerns about wastewater injection wells near Marietta, warning continued permitting could threaten drinking water sources serving thousands of Ohioans.

Local advocates said the issue has taken on new urgency as Ohio continues to accept oil and gas wastewater from other states.

Washington County currently has dozens of permitted injection wells, several located close to public drinking water sources. Community members pointed to increased seismic activity and the proximity of existing and proposed wells as reasons for alarm.

Caroline Eells, organizer for the group Washington County for Safe Drinking Water and a Marietta resident, said people who live in the area are seeing the impacts firsthand.

"We are no longer interested in being a dumping ground for other states’ toxic waste," Eells asserted. "If we don’t have safe drinking water, we don’t have a town."

According to Washington County for Safe Drinking Water, the county has 19 permitted Class II injection wells, with several located within just a few miles of Marietta’s Source Water Protection Area, raising concerns among residents and water system officials.

City leaders said they are also pressing the state to slow or halt new permits while risks are evaluated. The Marietta City Council has passed resolutions urging state agencies and lawmakers to stop new injection wells near local aquifers and limit the importation of out-of-state waste.

Susan Vessels, president of the Marietta City Council, said the city’s concern is rooted in geology and the long-term safety of regional water supplies.

"With the volumes that are being injected so close to our aquifers, I think it’s an inevitability that something very, very bad and irreversible (could) happen," Vessels stressed.

A public forum on injection wells and drinking water safety is scheduled for today in Marietta, where residents and experts will discuss potential risks and call for stronger protections for Southeast Ohio’s water resources.