On March 18, the community of Tidioute was issued a boil water notice. As of the writing of this letter — four weeks later we are still under a boil water notice with seemingly no end in sight.

Since the start of this water debacle we have received no official statement from our Mayor Henry Brown and nothing but boil water verbiage from Council and Southwest Warren County Municipal Authority President Steve Morrison. Last year when we had our last water emergency residents were provided with potable water and kept abreast of what was being done to fix the situation.

This time, crickets.

One can only assume at this point that it is gross mismanagement and lack of oversight on the part of Council, SWCMA, and SWCMA managers over the safety of our water system. Every step has been a misstep. Inaction and reactive not proactive.

Elections matter at every level of government. It is never more prudent than in times when the health and safety of the constituents they lead are in jeopardy. Mr. Morrison and Mr. Brown are perfectly adept at leading our community at hosting Fishing Tournaments, Reenactments, and handing out awards to fellow council members but seem to have forgotten that their most important job is to LEAD during crisis, to put their constituents minds at ease, to be forthcoming with information whether it be good or bad, to give a timeline so people can be proactive with their water needs.

In June, Tidioute is supposed to be hosting a World War II reenactment with hundreds of reenactors encamping here and upwards of a thousand spectators expected. Will potable water be provided to put on this show for reenactors when it hasn’t been provided for the community at large which is made up of many elderly and poor families? Will businesses be provided with support of ice and potable water with the influx of people or are they just supposed to make the best of it like the rest of us so that Tidioute can put on a show? What is being done to support the Tidioute Community Charter School who I’m assuming has had to spend thousands of dollars that could be going to education in order to feed and hydrate students safely. Many questions with no answers.

Water is a NEED. Who’s going to buy homes in Tidioute with ongoing water issues caused by mismanagement? Will campers/hunters choose other businesses outside of Tidioute to be assured of the safety of the water used to cook the food they consume? If this becomes a long term problem what changes will have to be put into place at people’s homes and at the Charter School?

What is so infuriating about this whole situation is that we expect politicians at the state and federal level to ignore us. But the Mayor, Tidioute Council and SWCMA members are our neighbors, coworkers,and friends and they refuse to be forthcoming with information that affects people’s health. They seem to have forgotten that their role as elected members of our community is to serve the people they lead. Mistakes happen but if this water issue was caused by mismanagement those responsible NEED to be held accountable resign and/or be fired. We will remember at the ballot box that leadership through hardship matters.

Christina Craig is a Tidioute resident.