BEGGS, Okla. — Students in Beggs have been in distant learning since Friday because the school buildings don’t have water. It’s an issue many neighbors have been dealing with since Thursday.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this before, and I never expected to,” said Bettina Therkildsen.
Therkildsen moved to Beggs three years ago with her family.
“The excellent school district,” Therkildsen said. “The better cost of living. The small town community.”
She says the water issues started almost as soon as she moved to town.
“There’s a lot and it’s really difficult. I’m doing my best. It’s really really overwhelming.”
She scrolled through messages from the city on her phone alerting neighbors to the most recent issue.
“It’s a problem we live in America in 2022 and I can’t get water out of my tap,” Therkildsen said.
Since Thursday, water has been on and off for neighbors in town. City Mayor Jacob Branson says an OG&E power problem has made it difficult for their pump to pull at full capacity. They’ve been using a generator to pump the water until the power company can fix the problem.
Therkildsen said Wednesday she had water, but as a caregiver to her 83-year-old grandfather it’s a challenge when it’s hit or miss.
“How do I help my grandfather shower?” said Therkildsen. “How do I shower? How do I wash my dishes? How do I wash laundry? How do I just live?”
Branson says ultimately most of the issues are due to aging infrastructure and as a small town they don’t have the money to replace all of the lines. They’ve applied for some grants to put in new lines.
Branson also said they put in a new main line in June. It’s going uphill to the pump station which has caused some issues. They plan to get the contractor who installed it to find a permanent solution.
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