GARNETT–Call it a case of strange timing…whatever it is, the town of Garnett and Drexel Missouri are connected in ways they probably never dreamed of. Garnett is the headquarters of the Kansas Corn Growers Association and Kansas Grain Sorghum Producers Association…and the groups have been waging a war against efforts by some interest groups to outlaw the herbicide Atrazine. And where does this bring in Drexel? Well…the folks in Drexel are for the moment forbidden to use their water for cooking or drinking or any other use….right now they have to rely on bottled water. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources issued the ban on Drexel water after it said the town water supply was found with 10 times the maximum level of Atrazine that is considered safe for human consumption. An official with the Drexel Public Works Department says the recent heavy rains have run off into the city lake which supplies the town water. Carbon is being added to the lake to dissolve the Atrazine, and tests are continuing to see if the chemical drops to safe levels.
Friday, June 25, 12:46 pm
