LETTER: Renters drink the same water, so why were we left out?

When is Mayor Peter Sharp going to step forward and accept responsibility for what happens within the City of Soap Lake?

Whenever concerns are raised, we hear blame directed toward the City Council. The council did place restrictions on the mayor’s authority, but those restrictions did not remove him from office or erase his statutory duties. Under RCW 35A.12.100, the mayor remains Soap Lake’s chief executive and administrative officer, with general supervision over city administration.

Most residents have already heard the allegations and controversies surrounding City Hall. Those matters can be addressed through the appropriate investigations and public processes. Right now, we need to confront a recent and documented failure involving our drinking water.

Elevated levels of PFOA were detected in the city water system. Whether the city was legally required to issue an immediate notice is not the central issue here. City officials decided the results were important enough to notify residents. They deserve credit for making that decision.

But then the city used a notification method that predictably reached water-account holders while excluding many renters who drink the exact same water.

Notices were placed on water bills, but many renters never receive those bills. Their landlords do, sometimes at addresses outside Soap Lake. Information posted online or published in a newspaper may increase public awareness, but residents are not required to have internet access, follow the city online, or subscribe to a newspaper to learn about their drinking water.

I am a renter. I drink city water. I do not receive the city water bill, and I did not receive a direct official notice from the city.

That raises a much larger and more serious question: What if the next water problem presents an immediate danger?

What if residents must stop drinking the water, boil it, avoid using it for infant formula, or take other urgent precautions? Would the city again notify only the names listed on water accounts and hope everyone else somehow hears about it?

A public health notification system cannot depend on luck, Facebook sharing, newspaper readership, or a landlord remembering to pass along a bill notice. In a genuine emergency, delays and communication gaps could place families, children, older residents, nursing-home patients, and medically vulnerable people at unnecessary risk.

Once the city decided this information was important enough to distribute, it had a responsibility to make a reasonable effort to reach everyone consuming the water, including renters and other non-bill-paying consumers.

Mayor Sharp, who decided that receiving a water bill would determine who received direct notice? What steps were taken to reach renters? What will be done now to notify those who were missed? What written procedures will prevent this from happening again?

This is not a political “blame game.” It is a demand for leadership, equal treatment, and a reliable public health notification system.

Renters are not second-class citizens. We drink the same water, face the same potential exposure, and deserve the same timely information.

Mayor Sharp, the city you were elected to lead includes us too.

John Coleman

Soap Lake