Hundreds In Need of Drinking Water in Macy, Nebraska

[OmahaBlueDog]

Normally, I'd post this in "Native American" or "Nebraska." However, I'm posting this here to make a point. There are two Americas. In one America, a lack of drinking water in a town brings state or federal assistance, and the Red Cross or Salvation Army might bring resources. However, there is another America. In this America, your water emergency never gets reported beyond local news, and your town's drinking water depends on local churches (how I found out about the story) and the governing body (in this case, the Omaha Tribe) having to beg for donations.

..OK, rant over...

Turning on the faucet and getting a clean glass of water. It's something most of us take for granted.

But for Gloria Wolfe and her family in Macy, Nebraska, clean water is no guarantee.

"It's bad," said Gloria.

Just recently a main water line broke. That line has since been repaired but there are actually eight other smaller breaks.

"The Omaha Tribe doesn't have enough equipment to repair all these leaks simultaneously nor do they have the man power," said Carroll Webster Jr., Emergency Management Director of the Omaha Tribe.

More story at: http://www.kcautv.com/story/20877898/hundreds-in-need-of-drinking-water-in-macy-nebraska

Video at: http://www.kcautv.com/story/20877898/hundreds-in-need-of-drinking-water-in-macy-nebraska?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=8292130

The town is open to donations of bottled water and money donations. Those can be sent to Omaha Tribe Emergency Management, 303 Main Street, Walthill, NE 68067 or call [phone].

If you are in the Omaha area, I also know that St. Robert Bellarmine Church is collecting bottled water and also taking donations. 11802 Pacific Street Omaha, NE 68154 (120th & Pacific). 402-333-8989 http://www.stroberts.com/

[annabanana]

1. The First Nations are still getting screwed.

All. The. Time.

[Warpy]

2. They're not the only ones

I had to use a water service on Cape Cod because the military had polluted the groundwater the town relied on. For a short period, they were telling us we couldn't even shower in it, it was so toxic. Eventually the town drilled new wells away from the plume and the water was back to "acceptable."

Now I live in the desert and water is a really, really big deal. My yard is drought tolerant or bare. I don't need a water service here because the groundwater is a mile down and I'll be gone by the time the military manages to pollute it.

However, the destruction of water resources is going to be the biggest challenge facing the whole planet in the next hundred years as the planet continues to warm and climate continues to change.

[WinkyDink]

6. Not all:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/09/us/more-casinos-and-internet-gambling-threaten-shakopee-tribe.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

[annabanana]

8. good.. . . . . eom

[OmahaBlueDog]

10. Not everyone's Casino works out quite as well

CasinOmaha closed about two years ago.

OTOH, their neighbors, the Winnebagos, run the highly successful WinnaVegas.

[KamaAina]

11. One would hope the Winnebagos would come to their neighbors' assistance

[randome]

3. Did they ask for assistance before this article came out?

If they ask for help, I have no doubt Obama will do something.

[OmahaBlueDog]

4. As I said in the OP, I'd heard nothing about this until services today

The only news coverage I've seen is the article I cited out of Sioux City.

Frankly, I'm hoping that posting this here will raise awareness of the story. I've also e-mailed some Omaha media.

[mzteris]

5. Just stole

part of your intro to append to sharing the story on FB. You said it so well.

I should have asked first, I'm sorry. I didn't think about it until after.

[OmahaBlueDog]

9. As far as I'm concerned, you are free to steal my intro

Other than that, it's between you & Skinner.

Thanks for sharing the story. That's the important part.

[MADem]

7. There is a NEW WAY to repair old pipe that doesn't require that the pipe be dug up and replaced.

They basically run a camera and a huge plastic double liner inside the pipe and make a new pipe inside the old with composite material. The camera shows 'em where the big breaks are...

Sliplining, CIPP, and thermoformed pipe lining involve pulling or inverting a new liner into an existing pipe, then applying heat and/or pressure to force the liner to expand to fill the pipe. CIPP technologies combine a carrier (felt or fibreglass) impregnated with heat, ultraviolet light, or ambient curable resin to form a "pipe within a pipe". Pipe bursting fractures a pipe from the inside and forces the fragments outwards while a new pipe is drawn in to replace the old.[2] The other methods are primarily for fixing spot leaks. Trenchless rehabilitation methods are generally more cost-effective than traditional exhume (dig) and replace methods.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trenchless_technology

They should contact the people who do this kind of work and see if they'd help. Maybe someone will see it as a good charitable write-off, or an opportunity to showcase what they do and how they do it.