A drop in the bucket makes a difference in Eastern Kentucky

More than 500 water filters have been distributed to families and individuals in Eastern Kentucky who lost access to potable water after deadly floods struck the region in late July.

That number is a drop in the bucket compared to the need, said Sister Larraine Lauter, who leads the Louisville-based Water With Blessings.

“Our goal is at minimum 2,500” filters, said Sister Lauter, an Ursuline Sister of Mount St. Joseph. “They are facing literal hardship right down the road from us.”

“In Upper River Caney (in Breathitt County) a lot was destroyed, but people are still up there. They’re trying to haul in bottles of water for people to wash clothes, wash dishes.”

A Sawyer PointONE water filter from Water With Blessings enables a family to “fill up a five-gallon bucket every 20 minutes” using water from the nearby Caney Creek or collected rain, she said.

“That’s huge right there. They’re going to be camping for months to one degree or another,” said Sister Lauter.

Gradually, water services have been restored in most of the affected communities, though boil-water advisories are still common, according to Dr. Kassi Marshall, a physician in the region who is coordinating the distribution of water filters. Some who live in remote hollers where damages were heavy are still waiting.

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