Newark Family Receives Life-Changing Water Well Upgrade

NEWARK, OH – A Newark family is getting a fresh start with clean water, thanks to Xylem Watermark, the Water Well Trust, and the Chris Long Foundation’s Waterboys initiative.

Brett and Paula Richards, along with their son, have been facing a severe water shortage at their home, but that’s about the change. The family’s well is running dry, and outdated equipment has made things even harder. Local partners like Warren Pump & Supply Co. and Mount Water Well Drilling, are stepping up to install a new well and pump, with materials donated by the Vinyl Institute. Project partners will also refresh the family’s property with new paint and mulch.

“I’m going to have a nice shower. I think the last nice shower I had was three or four years ago when we went to a motel. So, I’m going to have a nice long shower,” Brett Richards said.

“I do laundry like once every three weeks. If I can do that. The other day, I didn’t tell Brett I was doing a load of towels, and he got the hose hooked up to do something and he said, ‘we don’t have any water.’ I said it’s because I’m doing towels,” Paula Richards said.

This project is part of Hometown H20, a program from Waterboys and Xylem, providing clean water to families in need.

“It feels amazing. We love this work. The Chris Long Foundation historically has done a lot of work internationally, and it really was a few years ago that we started leaning into the more domestic work, trying to support the two million Americans who live without access to water every day. This family is just the perfect example of people who are so deserving and will benefit so much,” Portia Boggs Chris Long Foundation development director said.

“Anytime we can help anybody get back into water and get back to normal life. These people have been on scarce water for a long time, using three-minute showers because they ran out of water in five minutes. It’s just going to be a good feeling for everybody.” Scott Zody, Xylem Watermark market develop manager said.

As the Richards family looks forward to reliable water access for the first time in years, Hometown H20 continues to make an impact, one family at a time.