Adair County Residents Frustrated With Inconsistent, Dirty Water Supply

People living in an Adair County water district are frustrated and want change because they are not getting clean drinking water. They say the water constantly shuts off, but even when it’s flowing, it is safer to drink bottled water.

“You never know when it’s going to happen,” said Sarah Sawyer, a resident of the water district. “You just keep buying bottles of water to have in the house to drink and do dishes. You don’t dare start the dishwasher and leave because you don’t know if the water’s going to go off.”

Sawyer has lived in the water district for 20 years. She has dealt with faucets constantly shutting off and dirty drinking water since hopping on the line in 2007.

Others are in the same boat.

“We have a few cases of bottled water that we keep just in case so we can at least wash our hair and brush our teeth,” said Sonya Farmer, another resident of the water district.

The Oklahoma State Department of Environmental Quality says the water district has construction, operational, and operator-certification violations. The department reports 17 complaints have been investigated in the last year.

News On 6 reached out to the board members of the water district, but they declined interviews or did not return inquiries. Instead, like others with questions, we were referred to a packet of questions and answers typed up by a board member.

The documents say the facilities are more than 30 years old and simply cannot keep up with the demand. The district recommends boiling water.

Board members say they are working on a long-term plan to address the water issues, though a specific timetable was not released.

“The people of this part of the country are suffering,” said Kyle Land, another resident of the district. “We don’t have water. We can’t flush our toilets or give our kids baths at night.”

Land’s family once went 11 days without water. Those moments made it easier to realize how important it is to have a consistent and reliable water source.

“At this point, I would just like water to come out of the faucets. It doesn’t have to be the best of the best, but at some point, I would like nice quality water,” said Land. “I think that’s owed to us as citizens of this county.”

Until they can come up with a long-term solution, the water board is asking people to conserve water and report any leaks as soon as they are noticed.