Stryker Lake Water Supply Corp. board walks out of meeting, customers looking for answers

CHEROKEE COUNTY – Members of Stryker Lake Water Supply Corporation continue searching for answers after spending many months under a boil water notice. According to our news partner KETK, a board meeting was held Friday to answer some of their questions. There was an extensive agenda to cover, and dozens of members were in attendance. However, most of the agenda went unaddressed after the board members left the meeting after 15 minutes. “They told us first of all that we could only speak about things on the agenda and that’s when I said, ‘Nuh uh,’” said Nicki Greenwood, the former business manager and a current customer with the Stryker Lake WSC. Greenwood said the board is to be elected into their positions, but she says an election hasn’t happened in several years. “I left in 2016 and there has not been an election since. These board members just came in, and they just took a seat and said, ‘We’re board members,’” Greenwood added.

KETK News has made several phone calls to the business manager but has yet to hear back. Customers say communication is just one of the problems they face when dealing with these water issues. “There was zero chlorine residual, flushing wasn’t done or whatever other problems they’ve found, two hours after the boil water notice was lifted. So no proper testing was done,” Courtney Sparkman, a customer, pointed out during the meeting.

After the board left, members stuck around for 45 minutes to try and figure out what else they could do. They created petitions to personally take over these positions on the board. If voted in, this would allow them to replace the business manager and well operator that they say has caused them so much trouble. Five residents offered to take a spot, and all five got more than the number of signatures needed. Residents say they will do whatever they have to do until something changes. “We came to get them removed so that we, the members, can hold an election and get a proper board in here and get our water situation figured out. Our water is… like one lady said, her dog wouldn’t even drink it,” Greenwood explains.

The members did reach out to the Public Utility Commission, which told the members to mail the board president and business manager all documents including by-laws and the signed election petitions. The PUC says the water officials have one week to respond, and if they don’t, the PUC told the members that they can move forward with a special election to elect a new board. KETK News also reached out to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. TCEQ says it has completed the field work for the investigation into the Stryker Lake Water Supply Corporation, and they are drafting up a report.