After a week of no running water, officials in Tuluksak declare that they’re on edge of shutting down the school in the village.
Principal Kary DelSignore explained that the problem began Thursday, February. 9, when a line that was running from the water plant failed the school, leaving the teacher housing units without running water.
This machine is mobile one that was loaned by the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corp. which sent a technician to inspect the.
“He could not detect any leaks,” DelSignore said. “He stated the fact that, even if they could detect the leak, the equipment is not accessible in Tuluksak to find the leak and solve it.”
There’s a solution that’s temporary that requires the transportation of 200 gallon containers of plastic between the plant that supplies water to school. It will only be able to provide a tiny fraction of the water that schools and the teacher’s housing typically use.
“We’re trying to save water wherever we can. We’re making decisions should not be forced to make in our classrooms,” DelSignore said. “You are pulling off the honey buckets and doing things similar to this. You have to decide whether or not we provide you with food today? Can you clean your hands? What are we able to do? Do we have drinking water? We’re not able to provide any water to drink right now that is safe to drink at school.”
The water shortage makes it hard for food preparation in a safe atmosphere and DelSignore along with Yupiit School District Superintendent Scott Ballard say that it’s placing the safety and health of the children and staff at risk.
“Our teachers are off for work, and they’re working on weekends to assist pump water. They’re working during the evening hours to the water pump,” DelSignore said.
After that, they head home to honey buckets , and cold showers.
“Its becoming very, difficult and we’re in need of some help by the government,” DelSignore said.
It’s just not entirely certain where the help will be sourced. DelSignore and Ballard claimed that they’ve been in contact with Bethel’s Senator. Lyman Hoffman and the director from the Alaska Department of Education.
“Whether this is an agency like the National Guard, whether it’s another state, or you know water, health, and safety, the environmental agency is arriving. These agencies have tools we don’t have in our rural community to assist us and get this problem fixed as quickly as possible,” DelSignore said.
As each day progresses Ballard stated that they might not be capable of keeping the school operating.
“Right right now, we’re trying to figure out if these teachers will get through the next week since they’ve declared that they’re exhausted, and haven’t taken showers for one month,” said Ballard. “If all our teachers are exhausted and are so angry, and not even having the ability to maintain the most basic of hygiene standards They’ll be leaving and we’ll never have any school.”
Tuluksak has been fighting to bring water that is potable to its residents in recent times. An explosion destroyed the water plant in 2021.. The community had to depend on donations of bottled drinking water or from the adjacent Tuluksak as well as the Kuskokwim Rivers until a temporary plant was built later that year.
KYUK’s Francisco Martinezcuello helped with this story.
