Imagine this: You're trying to sell your home, and that's when you find out that the well water has unusual levels of fertilizer chemicals in it. Your pond outside has dead fish in it from run off from a nearby farm. What can you do? When your property is contaminated by waste, you have a few options. 

Redig Your Well

The first thing that you have to deal with is your well water. You can't drink it, because it would be poisonous to do so. What you can do is have your well redrilled, as long as the water table isn't actually contaminated. If your well is being contaminated due to cracks or damage it has suffered over the years or because of the angle of run off from a nearby farm, moving its location and placing a new unit could be the key to clean water. However, if the entire water supply has been poisoned, then you may need to invest in city water, which the city must pipe out to you. Keep any receipts you have from this process, because you might be able to be compensated later. 

Dredge and Drain the Pond

The next thing to do is to dredge and drain your pond as much as possible. If toxic materials like concrete or sediment are choking out the fish, dredging the pond and making it deeper might help. Draining a portion of the water for testing and then treating it as necessary may also help you reestablish a healthy pH level and make the pond viable again. If it is left untreated and toxins continue to collect, the pond is unlikely to sustain life or could lead to fish or wildlife that carry toxins in their bodies. 

Hire an Environmental Law Attorney

After you assess the situation, it's important to talk to an environmental law attorney like Moore Smith Buxton & Turcke-Chartered. These attorneys work with people who have had their properties damaged due to local waste treatment plants, farms, and other industrial complexes. It's the responsibility of those businesses to make sure they don't impact the safety of those around them, so your attorney may be able to help you get those parties to pay for the upgrades and detoxification of your property. The right claim could even mean you can make sure the facility takes new steps to prevent toxins from contaminating the surrounding area in the future, especially if the state becomes involved or reaches out to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

These are just a few tips for what to do after your property is damaged by toxins. Taking the right steps can get you back into a healthy property.

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