Mount Pleasant Magazine Nov/Dec 2017

77 www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.ILoveMountPleasant.com | www.BestofMP.com feature W ater makes up around 80 percent of a human being’s blood, but it would be no surprise to learn that the percentage of H2O flowing through Clay Duffie’s veins and arteries might be just a little higher than that of most people. After all, Duffie has been general manager of Mount Pleasant Waterworks since March 1989, and his father held the same job in Saluda, South Carolina. Duffie has been in the water business since he was 14, when his dad put him to work painting fire hydrants, mixing paint with glass beads so the hydrants would be shiny and visible at night. Later, he spent summers alongside crews that were installing sewer lines and changing out water meters. “My whole career has been all about clean, safe drinking water,” Duffie commented. Which is why he took it personally this past summer when a group of local residents, with help and encouragement from environmental activist Erin Brockovich, attacked Mount Pleasant’s water system through social media and at public hearings, claiming that the town’s water was rife with pesticides that might be causing brain cancer in children living on the north side of town. “You can say anything you want on social media and not back it up with facts,” Duffie commented. “I tried not to read the nasty-grams about me. I took a professional attitude. But they were questioning this organization, and I’m responsible for everything here.” At a press conference that followed accusations that the town’s drinking supply was tainted, Duffie explained that much of Mount Pleasant’s water comes from the Middendorf aquifer, which is 2,000-feet deep and thus protected from infiltration by man- made contaminants. Brockovich, whose successful lawsuit against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company was the subject of a 2000 movie starring Julia Roberts, used Facebook to call his explanation “crap.” “She has name recognition and her associates used it to gain some credibility, which they don’t have, in my opinion,” Duffie said. “They filed a Freedom of Information request, and we sent them analytical data from years back. We billed them for $324, which was our cost, and the bill hasn’t been paid yet.” “We live in a community with a reliable water system,” added Waterworks Community Engagement and Communications Director Dionna Ebeling. “She knows nothing about it. She used social media to cast doubt. It’s very scary. They throw their dart, people start to panic and Clay Duffie has been the general manager at Mount Pleasant Waterworks since 1989. BY BRIAN SHERMAN Will You Drink to That? DefendingMount Pleasant’sWater System Photo by Jess Wood.