About 300 People Without Water In Rural Pawnee County

A small green country community has no running water tonight.

It's been that way for the folks who live in Masham for nearly a month.

There are about 300 people in rural Pawnee County that don't have running water. Not even a trickle.

The water in Masham comes from 11 miles away in Ralston.

Rural Water District Chairman Roy Robbins says the water system there is antiquated and the lines are clogged.

"They've got a four-inch line and it's plugged up otherwise," he says

Robbins says Ralston is not pumping enough water to Masham to sustain water pressure in the community.

He says there's no money to fix the problem.

There is one bright spot, though, at Masham First Baptist Church.

Pastor Johnny Wagner organized a water drive Tuesday and folks have been dropping off cases and jugs of water since.

Ranchers can even fill up at the church, Wagner says someone is bringing in a tank so ranchers can get water for their livestock.

Bottles of water help with brushing teeth, flushing toilets and drinking. For laundry, washing dishes and bathing, most folks are loading up and relying on friends and family.

Grateful, but ready for the water to start running at home again.

The community is looking into a number of options. One of those is tying into a rural Pawnee County water line a few miles south.