Guardians of the River: Confronting Leachate in the Big South Fork Cumberland River

The Big South Fork Cumberland River, a river of many stories and memories and a symbol of our way of life, is now facing an insidious threat. The threat that leachate poses is devastating to the beautiful memories and stories that makes this river so special.

Think back to many summer days spent fishing with your family. Think back to that time when grandpa saw you catch your first big fish. Think of peaceful evenings spend around a campfire. Close your eyes and imagine the gentle whisper oof the river. These moments have been forever engraved in our hearts and minds, and these moments have been relived in every generation. These moments seem like they will last forever, but what happens next?

Imagine sitting at your grandpa’s bedside where he is battling with stage four cancer. In pain, he talks about the many memories you’ve a made fishing together. Imagine your child or grandchild si struggling to overcome illness from a compromised immune system. Imagine the loved one suffering for liver or kidney damage or from asthma that and unexplainably gotten worse. Imagine a variety of children experiencing health issues related to birth defects or neurological disorders. If you can imagine this, you get the picture of what leachate corrupts, and you understand why we cannot let this river become a catalyst for disease and distruction.

The truth is many of us have spent much of our lives dealing with hardship and adversity that has in some cases has resulted in negligence from others or failure on behalf of our leaders. Many of us have succumbed to the mentality of “Oh well. This hardship will pass to.” However, the consequences won’t. The footprint of leachate is deep, and the price it has is much higher than those imposing it’s destruction are willing to admit.

It’s time to demand transparency. Its time to demand transparent water, air, action, information, and a transparent future.