"the People's Paths!" Cherokee News Path - Cherokees Help Restore Water

"Forman Ross unpacks drinking water for residents of Kenwood over the weekend. Residents were left without water after the rural water district’s main pump stopped working. The Cherokee Nation purchased and installed a new pump on Monday."

KENWOOD, OKLAHOMA – The Cherokee Nation stepped up quickly over the weekend to assist residents of the Cherokee community of Kenwood, located in Delaware County, when over 100 homes and businesses were left without water due to an outage of the area water district’s main pump.

Saturday evening, the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service received a call that the area had no running water. By early morning Sunday, Cherokee Nation Emergency Management, Community Services and Marshal Service arrived on the scene with approximately 870 gallons of water to distribute to citizens and residents in the area.

“This effort required a lot of hard work, teamwork and cooperation with many people and departments working together to achieve this goal,” said Chad Smith, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. “We are glad our efforts were able to quickly assist our citizens and other residents in the Kenwood area.”

According to Cherokee Nation Community Services Group Leader Charlie Soap, tribal officials also traveled with community leaders to distribute water directly to the homes of the sick and elderly residents living in the area.

Over 400 gallons of water was distributed Sunday morning, and the remainder of the water was placed in the tribe’s Kenwood Community Center, with instructions on who to contact for those needing additional supplies.

On Monday, the tribe learned the area’s rural water district did not have the funds to purchase a new pump to restore water service to the area. Upon hearing the news, Cherokee Nation officials again acted with quick assistance. The tribe acquired the needed pump and installed it for the residents the same day.