Many Sasakwa Residents Dealing with Lack of Water

By Colleen Chen, NEWS 9

SASAKWA, Oklahoma -- The small town of Sasakwa is hoping for clear running water, while others are just hoping for any water at all.

Some residents in Sasakwa haven't had water for ten days. The lack of water started with the last freeze. During the cold snap, some residential water lines broke causing water to leak for long periods of time. That drained the town of a couple hundred gallons of their water tower.

Sasakwa's water department is made up of one person, Abe Davis. Davis said he has been working long hours to try and fix the problem.

"I've been getting up at four in the morning. Some nights I don't get home until midnight," Davis said.

Davis cranks open the main water valves to release water during certain hours to those who can still get it. That includes Sasakwa schools where students are using hand sanitizer and bottled water. At the general store in Sasakwa, the kitchen is closed but the register is busy with customers looking to buy water and other beverages.

The water coming out of some faucets is murky, and residents said they don't plan on drinking it until the situation clears up.

With the water issues, daily tasks have become tedious for many residents.

"We don't have a laundromat in town so we either drive to Wewoka or Seminole where it costs us $20 to do laundry. The drive costs us a good $10 in gas," said Sasakwa resident Natalya Puntka.

Davis said the water needs to rise to a certain level for the water system to maintain itself. He said the problem is any time the levels get close, they fall too fast because customers overuse the system.

"People need to use the water moderately when we turn it back on. Otherwise we have to start from scratch," Davis said.

Davis said he think the problem should be fixed in the next three days.