Oklahoma's Own In Focus: Years Of Water Outages In Adair County Leave Residents Without Reliable Access

People living within a rural Adair County water district are desperate for clean and consistent water after dealing with years of disruptions. Some of the outages have lasted for hours while others have lasted for weeks.

News On 6 has covered several disruptions since the summer of 2023.

1. 'We're Not Being Heard': Adair County Residents Frustrated With Recurring Water Outages
2. Adair County Residents Frustrated With Inconsistent, Dirty Water Supply
3.  People In Rural Adair County Angry After Months Long Water Problems 

The governing board of the water district says the plant and other infrastructure have suffered from years of neglect and it is an uphill battle to get things repaired. They say there are equipment failures, broken pipes, and a lack of money to make a massive overhaul.

When the water runs out, life still has to go on. Dishes need to be washed, dinner has to be cooked and you’ve got to think outside the box when flushing the toilet.

For Sheila Camp, an outage means stepping a few feet outside, finding an empty jug, and taking a dip. A trough made for cows to get water instead turns into her supply, just so she can use the bathroom in her home.

“That’s the only choice we have,” said Camp.

Inside her home, you will not find a table in the dining room. Instead, there is a mountain of water bottles, ready to go for when the faucets are dry.

“It’s frustrating,” she said. “You don’t know when to do anything because you don’t know when you’re going to have water and when you’re not going to have water.”

The water bottles are a necessity. She uses her supply to drink and bathe.

The outages have happened from time to time in her 20 years of living here, but Camp says they have ramped up in the last year. She has gone as many as three weeks without running water.

“Yeah, I live out in the country and everything. I’m used to it, but I shouldn’t have to live like this,” said Camp.

Camp and other members of the water district have asked the governing board for answers. During one meeting, members brought up disruptions to their water and disputes over their bills.

They raised questions over inconsistent charges, especially with days of outages. The board listens, trying to help where they can, knowing the problem is right in front of them.

“It’s the entire system,” said Colt Weaver, a now-former board member. “Just has flaws. It was years of neglect, so that’s what we’re trying to undo right now.”

This board took over after upending the people previously in charge. Weaver recently served as chairman of the board but would never go into detail on just how bad things are.

The board tells its members that the system is more than 30 years old and cannot support the district anymore.

“We inherited these issues. We’re doing what we can to bring everything up to par,” said Weaver. “Unfortunately, it’s not going to be overnight. It’s going to take some time, and we just ask everyone to be patient.”

Weaver says the board is paying for consultants and contractors to get things on the right track. Members like Sheila Camp will tell you that patience can only go so far.

“We need help, they need help down there. We need water,” she said.

The Department of Environmental Quality says the board has been working to organize financial information and prepare a proposed agreement with the Cherokee Nation to assist with the system. The DEQ says this would include consulting, maintenance, and staff improvements.

The agreement is supposed to be proposed in January 2025, according to DEQ. It adds that the Cherokee Nation and the Oklahoma Rural Water Association are putting together a long-range sustainability plan for Adair County Rural Water District 5.