It was a dream.

Ten years in the making for Will and Rashele Birmingham.

Buy a piece of land in the count Build a home.

Grow their own food and raise their children away from the hustle and bustle of th This is supposed to be our forev where we can homestead and raise our kids out in the co They found the perfect spot nestled between Spokane and Airw Heights, land with beautiful vie and enough space to let their dr So we moved onto our land in Mar into a camper.

Actually, with, four kids and a baby on th The Birmingham's were aware of t contamination on the West Plains but believed they were far enoug away from the danger to be safe.

They had their water tested.

The results did indicate PFAS were present, but below the government standar at the time.

We figured we were good.

We put in, drinking water filter just to be on the safe side.

And then we went on with our lif for the next two years and threw a lot of their own lab The dream started to take root.

They built a home, planted a fru and a huge vegetable garden and started raising chickens and all while their family continued But everything changed in April of 2024, when the Departme of Ecology reached out.

I was nine months pregnant, just like a week away from my du with our sixth baby.

And they test our water and we f that our levels are extremely hi And at that point, we're still t our drinking water is probably f And we honestly had no idea the impact on our land for the g the things we wouldn't be able t for the orchard and for our anim And we were consuming chicken eg time, feeding them to our childr I was pregnant and eating them, breastfeeding and eating them, giving them to very small childr Almost a year later, Rashele would learn they have been eating those eggs.

They confirmed our levels March 2025 were so high in the e from just the water being contam that we should not have been consuming them at all.

They were toxic.

A terrifying discovery for a mom to make healthy choices for her We were angry and scared about w the health ramifications were.

For now an under the sink filtration system in the kitchen the only drinkable water on the and the Birmingham still have to figure out a way t water to the crops and animals.

We dont get any eggs, we get 40 acre land.

We have to completely reclaim this whole spot.

I got to move the chicken coop.

This whole area as well.

It's not usable because the chic That's how they detox.

They get rid of it through their feces and urine.

And so this whole area is now technically contaminated.

And the chickens, as you can see going to expose themselves some As for the vegetables, they've b watered with contaminated water and fertilized with rabbit manur which is also contaminated.

Some of their vegetables, like squash, corn and tomatoes are believed to be but other things like leafy greens are not.

And the research continues to ev It creates a lot of uncertainty, especially for parents.

To have complete peace of mind a that I'm not poisoning my kids with the food that I'm growing, which I'm growing because better than store bought supposedly, right?

I would have to move my whole ga You have to completely rethink your entire design.

Especially with six little kids.

Time is of the essence.

There's a lot of work that happens at five in the morn But even with what has felt like one obstacle after another.

Will and Rashele say they've put in too much hard to give up on their dream now.

We do intend to stay here.

This is our forever home.