Across rural America, it’s easy for local farmers to get overlooked. Corn, wheat and tobacco fields come up, come down, and are grown again without a second thought.
But one nearby agriculture family began providing the backbone of water hauling for the Marion crisis earlier this week. And not because of fame or fortune. But because it’s what local farmers do for neighbors, friends and endangered citizens.
Headquartered in Eddyville, Philip and Natalie Parish live in Marion and are one half of P&H Farms with Chris and Anzie Hooks.
And Natalie said they’re just happy to be able to respond.
On July 1, negotiations with state officials, the Kentucky Department of Transportation and the Kentucky National Guard brought P&H Farms into this community-saving fold. Their three water tankers can hold nearly 5,500 gallons each — more than 3,000 gallons more than military tankers — and as such, they can haul quickly and efficiently. Their motorized pumps and tanker hoses allow them to slurp and drop at a moment’s notice, while military tankers use gravity to do water intake and outtake.
They began their efforts Wednesday, pumping water from the Tradewater River and into Crooked Creek off of Hwy. 641 near Marion, which feeds into Old City Lake. Those three trucks spilled in nearly 105,000 gallons.
On Thursday, pump issues at the pumping station led to idle trucks for several hours, but they still managed nine loads at 5,500 gallons each — or 49,500 gallons.
And all of this, of course, came after landowner James Penn agreed to be the water unloading spot, and after Belt Construction dug a considerable channel to better connect Crooked Creek with the Old City Lake in Marion.
Natalie said these local relationships, paired with knowledge of Crittenden County and the Tradewater River, have only expedited these efforts.
P&H Farms signed a five-week contract with the Commonwealth, and Natalie said there are sincere plans to deliver seven days a week until further notice. The hope is to become so efficient and so safe, that they haul anywhere from 25 to 30 loads a day through the next month.
She said the farm’s staff has done nothing but answer the call for those in need.
Not looking to place blame, Natalie added that it’s time to solve a problem, and to come together with solutions.
Per officials from the City of Marion, there are currently six engineering firms working in some capacity to support different elements of short, intermediate and long-term solutions for this water crisis.
There is a desperate need for volunteers at the Old National Guard Armory in Marion, for the bottled water distribution efforts that are taking place there three days a week.
