When people are without something as vital as water, they’re never too far away to help.

That’s why several Butler County residents this week worked hard to help Pennsylvania’s neighbors to the south in West Virginia.

The water supply for about 300,000 West Virginia residents was contaminated from a chemical spill at Freedom Industries in Charleston, W.Va.

A hole in a storage terminal at the facility allowed licorice-smelling, poisonous chemicals used in coal processing to spill into the Elk River.

A ban on using that water was placed on much of the state, leaving residents unable to use their water for bathing or cooking.

While those affected by the chemical spill live hundreds of miles away from Butler, some county residents took time to collect water for those in need.

“People need clean drinking water to survive,” said Kristen DeSantis of Butler, a leading organizer for one group’s efforts. “We needed to help them.”

DeSantis, a student at Butler County Community College, and a couple of her friends drove three cars full of water and other supplies to Wheeling, W.Va. on Jan. 12.

“We collected water, soup, paper towels, cups, pre-made baby formula,” she said.

DeSantis got involved in the efforts through the Wheeling Water Warriors, a water advocacy group primarily focused on natural gas fracking issues.

One of the women assisting DeSantis was Penni Laine of Summit Township. She is a member of the Wheeling group and has been involved in water conservation efforts for years.

Laine said it is important to keep in mind the same type of spill could happen anywhere.

“We’re surrounded by all the same chemicals,” she said. “We might need help one day.”

DeSantis said her group took the water to the Water Warriors, who then delivered it to the affected areas further south.

While the effort was gratifying, DeSantis felt there was more to do.

“I just realized we could get so much more,” she said.

So her group began planning another trip, this time using a 10-foot rented trailer to carry the supplies.

The group used Facebook and other social media to collect even more donations, and also hosted a fundraiser at the Crossfire Church in Center Township.

Laine, a co-founder of the Sirkus Dayz fire performance group in Butler, got several of her members to perform at the fundraiser to attract people to come and donate.

The efforts paid off as the group filled the trailer with more than 125 cases of water for their trip on Friday.

Laine said more than 50 people made donations.

“I’ve never seen this many people come together to help people so far away,” Laine said. “It’s great to watch the community grow.”

Ryan Bailey of Cranberry Township organized his own trip to West Virginia’s state capital earlier in the week.

Bailey made the trip Tuesday with Pastor Dan Chaffin of the Living Faith Bible Church in Cranberry Township.

The two men filled Bailey’s van full of water and delivered it to the Salvation Army warehouse in Charleston.

“It’s quite amazing how fast it came together,” Bailey said. “I’ve been hearing about all the stuff going on in West Virginia and thought I needed to help.”

Bailey and Chaffin began planning the trip Jan. 12, and they collected donations from churches and some businesses to buy water.

On Monday the duo went to stores to buy as many gallons as they could.

“We ended up with nearly 400 gallons of water,” Chaffin said.

Bailey described Charleston as “very active” in efforts to get water to those in need.

“It was unbelievable,” he said. “There were so many people working to get water to those in need.”

Chaffin said they took the water to the Salvation Army because he has worked with that agency on other missionary trips.

“It’s important to find people you can trust,” he said. “The warehouse there has so many helpers. It only took them five minutes to unload the van.”

While the trip took more than nine hours, Chaffin said it was worth the time.

“It was really a pleasure to be involved,” he said. “It’s great to be able to help people when they’re really hurting.”