Clean Water and Community Voices: Looking Back on the Evarts Water Resilience Forum

On January 12, 2026, residents of Evarts, Kentucky, gathered at the Evarts Free Pentecostal Holiness Church Fellowship Hall for LiKEN Knowledge’s Community Water Resilience Forum. We had 19 community members in attendance, and I truly appreciate each and every one who took the time to be there. As a born-and-raised Harlan Countian, I appreciated seeing people show up, ask questions, and take an active role in supporting their community’s water story.

Clean, affordable water is something we all depend on, and these conversations are important for us to have with one another. Your willingness to participate and learn together is what makes progress possible, turning dialogue into meaningful action for the future.

Community leaders and members attending the first Evarts Water Resilience Forum. Photo taken by Deborah Thompson.

Sharing Evarts Water Story

One of the most valuable parts of the meeting was working on the Evarts water story timeline. This exercise gave everyone a chance to share their lived experiences and to reflect on how their water system has changed over time. Hearing those stories helped each of us better understand the challenges the Evarts community has faced over the years and the steps already taken to improve the system.

We captured and highlighted key milestones in Evart’s water history, including the first plant built in 1977. The catastrophic flood of that same year destroyed many communities throughout Harlan County, but most of Evarts was spared the destructive force of the floodwaters. We also confirmed that the current water plant was built in 1996, and a new water holding tank was erected in 1999 to replace the older tank, which was tipping significantly due to soil erosion beneath it.

Another topic discussed by water plant manager Woody Fields was the impact of 9/11 on Evarts’s water story. Funds were diverted from Homeland Security to fight the War on Terrorism, which had previously been allocated for water infrastructure across the United States. As a result, small communities like Evarts were left to suffer the fallout from losing those resources, adding to the ripple effects of that day's silent consequences.

LiKEN's Impact Director Deborah Thompson writing out Evarts's water story and timeline as told by community leaders and members in attendance. Photo by Jennifer McDaniels of The Harlan Enterprise.

Exercises like this allow us to learn from one another and see how our shared history can guide future decisions. Understanding the past helps us move forward more thoughtfully and better informed.

Community Questions and Transparency

We also conducted another PAR (participatory action research) exercise with community members to gather questions about the Evarts water system. Through this process, multiple questions were collected to present to the water plant manager, Woody Fields, for answers at our follow–up meeting on February 23, 2026, from 5:30 PM until 6:30 PM at the Evarts Free Pentecostal Church Fellowship Hall. 

This part of the meeting highlighted the importance of open communication between the community and those managing the water system. Having leadership that will listen and be transparent helps build trust and creates space for meaningful collaboration. When communities and local systems work together, positive change becomes much more achievable.

Using the Water Resilience Toolkit

Those at the meeting were given a one–page flyer with a QR code where they could access LiKEN’s Harlan County Water Resilience Toolkit. A labor of love for LiKEN, this toolkit was built over the course of three years of research, development, and deep listening in the community. In this toolkit, communities can access modules related to everything about water and wastewater systems, from where their source water comes from and how it is processed through the many intricacies of the water plant to what stresses their water systems and what happens during floods and other natural disasters. These links provide valuable educational opportunities for members of the Evarts community. If you would like more information on the toolkit, please click the link below to access it: 

Harlan County Water Resilience Toolkit | LiKEN Knowledge

Action Steps

When asked about action steps the community can take to help improve their water system, the group suggested that everyone write to our state and federal legislators to encourage them to allocate funding and do what they can to help Evarts achieve a more resilient water system with reliable, safe water. LiKEN will provide a list of legislators and their contact information to the community at the next meeting in February. We will also provide example phone and letter scripts for residents to use when contacting their representatives to request additional funding and support for the Evarts water system.

Our LiKENeers discussed ways to reach more community members who may not be able to attend meetings but still have questions or concerns. One idea is to set up a question and concerns box at a centralized location in the community, such as the clerk’s office, which is a hub for paying water bills. LiKEN will collect and organize additional responses to share with plant manager Woody Fields for discussion at the next meeting.

LiKEN will continue to build the Evarts Water Timeline as participation grows, with the goal of more community members actively contributing to their water story.

Looking to the Future

While working on our short–term goals, we are looking forward to our future in being a part of Evarts's continuing water story. LiKEN has authored a report called “Pathways to Water Resilience” about our work in Harlan and Martin Counties, and some of those findings were included in the community forum presentation. A full report was provided to Evarts officials for review and to relay any questions to LiKEN for answers. One of our goals is to hold a private follow–up meeting with both the water plant manager, Woody Fields, and Evarts’s Mayor, Eddie Manning, to hear their feedback on the report and explore ways that LiKEN could work with them to strengthen Evarts’s water system.

Another goal is to talk with community members about forming a concerned citizens group for Harlan County. This type of group could help residents support one another, share information in safe spaces, and work together in advocating for a more efficient water system.

Thank you again to everyone who completed the evaluation form. Your feedback demonstrated that participants appreciated learning more about how the water system works, the improvements already made, and the opportunity to collaborate with LiKEN and one another. We look forward to continuing this work and building on the progress we have made.

Evarts's Municipal Water Works' Plant Manager Woody Fields sits opposite the camera in the middle of the front row, joining nearly 20 community members in discussing the future of their water system. Photo by Jennifer McDaniels of The Harlan Enterprise.

All are welcome to a follow–up meeting on February 23, 2026, from 5:30 PM until 6:30 PM at the Evarts Free Pentecostal Church Fellowship Hall. Please come, even if, and especially if you were unable to attend the first meeting!