City to Stop Using Rat Poison in Storm Drains

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — Storm drains, a place for excess rain water to drain from the streets and a place for rodents to harbor. “I don’t like rats,” says Debra Mobley a Columbia resident. Rats, according to the City of Columbia, are a problem though not a big one. Yet in order to deal with the rats, city officials used rat poison in storm drains. “If it gets rid of the rats, great,” says Emory Markwood, a Columbia resident In fact, we’re told rat poison has been used for decades. Crandall Sims, “That was until recently when the city received a complaint from a resident whose dog *ate* some of the rat poison from a drain, similar to this one.” “I walk my dog in these parks fairly often and frankly I’m alarmed that they would do that,” says Rob Forny, a Columbia resident. “I don’t think that’s a good thing, because aren’t they reprocessing that water and drinking it,?” says Mobley. ABC Columbia News spoke with city officials and we’re told no environmental laws were broken. However, calls from a few concerned citizens about water quality prompted officials to stop using rat poison in storm drains. But some residents think action still needs to be taken. “I think they need to use it again, but do it in a better manner where animals, dogs and children can’t get to it,” says Mobley. “I think we should be doing something about a rodent problem, but you know not if it harms our pets and things like that,” says Forny. City officials tell ABC Columbia News rat poison will continue to be used in the city’s sewer system. However, they tell us the contents actually go to a wastewater facility before going into the water.