KONAWA, Oklahoma -
The water problems
keep coming for the town of Konawa. The water service
there keeps going out and now there's a letter saying their water contains a
dangerous chemical that could cause cancer.
Carrie Holly was
already frustrated with the city's on-again off-again water service. But
then she got a letter in the mail saying her drinking water was above the
maximum contamination level of Trihalomethanes and it may over many years cause
liver, kidneys or central nervous central problems and increase the risk of
cancer.
12/6/2012 Related Story: Konawa City Council Hosts Meeting To Discuss Water Issues
"It's kind of
scary, you should feel safe to bath in your water or cook," said Holly. "Even
if you're boiling it you have that in the back of your mind,"
"We don't know
exactly what caused that higher reading that we got except is was an older tank
that was used for a settling tank," said City Manager Rita LoPresto.
LoPresto says they
are working to get the problem fixed. That settling tank was drained and
redone. But even if that doesn't solve the TTHM problem. LoPresto says
the levels are still very low.
12/3/2012 Related Story: Water Back On In Konawa
"It shouldn't
cause any health issues for anybody because we would get it corrected," said
LoPresto. "It would be 30 years they would (have to) be drinking that
water that had a problem."
In the meantime,
State Senator Susan Paddack has stepped in and called a community meeting to
address all the water issues in Konawa.
"We need answers,
I'm tired of hearing we're working on it," said Holly.
That meeting is
scheduled for January 29th at 6 p.m.. and not only will city leaders
be there, but representatives from state agencies and Representative James
Lankford's office.
LoPresto says work
should begin next week to fix a water line out at that well field.
That should solve some of the water leak problems. But they still need to
replace all of the water lines in town and that would cost $5 million.
11/28/2012 Related Story: Konawa's Water Woes On The Mend
State Senator Susan Paddack has stepped in and called a community meeting to address all the water issues in Konawa.
The Town of Konawa released this letter concerning the issue.
