Toxic Water and the Anthill Effect: The Development of a Subculture of Distress in a Once Contaminated Community

Abstract

In 1990, testing revealed the existence of benzene in the municipal water supply of a community named Three Lakes, a residential subdivision of Houston, Texas. The water was quickly changed to a clean supply, but residents were not notified that there had been a problem until five months later. This provoked much anger within the community, along with concerns over present and future health problems. A grassroots group formed in response to this problem, but lasted only one year. The failure of this social movement organization left community residents to fend for themselves. In the words of one resident, the community reacted “like someone stepping on an anthill – everyone running in different directions.”

Citation

Couch, S.R. and Mercuri, A.E. (2007), "Toxic Water and the Anthill Effect: The Development of a Subculture of Distress in a Once Contaminated Community", Edelstein, M.R., Tysiachniouk, M. and Smirnova, L.V. (Ed.) Cultures of Contamination (Research in Social Problems and Public Policy, Vol. 14), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 117-137. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0196-1152(06)14006-5