This is Mary Hawkins in front of her house.  She is one of the neighbors on Watkins road across from Georgia-Pacific.  Mary has lived on Watkins road for almost 60 years.  She wants Georgia-Pacific to cover the costs to connect her to Columbus city water.



Sixteen homes on Watkins Road are dependent on backyard wells for their water supply. The Columbus Health Department tested the wells in 1984, and the Ohio EPA tested them again in 1990 and 1992. Every time the wells were tested, they were contaminated with phenol, a chemical released by Georgia-Pacific.


After Georgia-Pacific's huge explosion in 1997, neither the City nor Ohio EPA bothered to test if the wells had been effected. The Watkins Road homes are within a few yards of the City's drinking water supply. Georgia-Pacific should cover the costs of connecting the homes to Columbus's drinking water pipes.