Arkansan tells of life with little water.
WASHINGTON — Life is "strenuous and stressful" when you don’t have running water, Benton County resident Mike Frazee told lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Thursday.
"I live in rural Northwest Arkansas, an area of great natural beauty, but where access to basic services like drinking water can be extremely difficult," he said.
The figure is higher in Arkansas: 3.6 percent.
"In my part of the world, people drive every day, thousands of miles a year, to haul water from a coin-operated water machine to their homes, and if their water station is broke or there’s bad weather conditions, you might have to go several days without water," Frazee said.
In 2012, it drilled wells for the Frazees and five other Arkansas families, loaning them up to $11,000 each to cover the costs.
In an interview, Margaret Martens, the trade association’s executive director, said Arkansas was the group’s pilot project.
Since then, 24 additional wells have been completed in Northwest Arkansas.
And more wells are on the way.
Those who get assistance are "low-income Americans," Martens said, and the benefits are long-lasting.