BEGGS, Okla. — Residents in Beggs, like Melody Kendall, are no strangers to water woes.
"Water is a necessity. It's not a luxury," she said. "You have to have water to survive."
In 2022, shaky water supply impacted the city for nearly six months. Jacob Branson, Mayor of Beggs, said the recent shortage is due to the wave of winter weather.
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"Anytime it gets as cold as it's been and then it warms up like it does now, that's when we're going to see a lot more of our breaks," said Branson.
The weather and short water supply has prompted Beggs Public Schools to hold classes virtually for its fifth day in a row on Tuesday, according to its website.
Branson said crews are working tirelessly to bring the water supply back to normal. He said he added an additional emergency technician, and is looking to hire another.
Crews will break on Tuesday evening to attend the emergency meeting. Branson said he plans to share a short-term solution to the issue: repairing line breaks.
"We've repaired at least six in the last three to four days, on top of the guys trying to get the pump back up to where it needs to be," said Branson.
Also on the agenda is addressing the long-term solution of replacing the dated system. Branson said the city is relying on grants to fund the upgrades; and it has secured one, and is applying for another.
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"We just did another EODD grant. It's been approved. The planning on it's already started. We're working on another grant with Creek Nation and some more ARPA money," said Branson.
The meeting will also give the attendees a chance to voice their concerns and ask questions. Branson addressed community accusations of not allowing people to do this is previous meetings.
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"I know since I've been here, we've always allowed people to voice any concern or anything that they have," said Branson.
He also apologized to the community for the ongoing impact.
"I know it's probably meaningless to a lot of people, but I promise I've done everything that I can possibly do, and we're working around the clock to get this issue resolved."
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