A heartbreaking situation is unfolding in western Oklahoma, where farmers say saltwater contamination is killing cattle and threatening local water sources. Ranchers near Five Mile Creek in Caddo County are demanding answers as state officials work to find the source.
Five Mile Creek, a common watering hole for livestock in the area, has become a source of concern after dozens of dead cattle were reported. Ranchers have since moved their herds away from the contaminated water, but the damage may already be done.
“It’s devastating, not just financially, but to see the cattle suffer,” said Mike Loula, a cattle rancher who has already lost 28 cows. “We’ve probably got 10 head that are showing symptoms. We really don’t know the full impact.”
On Monday, Loula and other ranchers traced the contamination to saltwater bubbling up from underground near the creek.
“You could see it, it was pouring through a gopher hole and running into the creek,” said Tony Setzer.
That creek runs directly through Setzer’s family farm. Setzer said he first noticed dead fish in the creek back in August but didn’t think much of it at the time.
“We just kind of brushed it off, I wish I wouldn’t have,” he said. “Right now, we just want to find the source and get it stopped.”
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) has launched an investigation into what it calls a “purge,” where saltwater is seeping from the ground and flowing into the creek. Crews have dug trenches to divert the flow and are pumping the contaminated water into tankers for disposal.
But ranchers say the response came too late.
“It continued to run for about 36 hours before they did anything,” Loula said. “It’s still coming out of the ground as we speak.”
Field testing is currently underway to check nearby drinking and well water for contamination.
Statement from the OCC:
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission continues to investigate the purge to identify its source.
The Commission has three primary goals: To protect the public, protect the environment and regulate the state’s oil and gas industry to ensure it safely and responsibly produces oil and gas so that the first two goals are met.
We will notify the media when a determination has been made on where the water is coming from, or when an enforcement case has been filed against an oil and gas operator.
