Residents say VA Center has been without water for days

A resident of the Lawton-Fort Sill Veterans Center said the facility has been without water for eight days, with tenants relying on outside water sources and bottled water.

Officials with the center and the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs were not available for comment Monday because Veterans Day is a federal holiday. The center, which is located in east Lawton on Flower Mound Road, is under the jurisdiction of the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs.

City of Lawton officials, responding to charges that the city had cut off the facility’s water, said that wasn’t true.

In a statement, Communications and Marketing Manager Cailtin Gatlin said: “We understand how serious and frustrating this situation is, especially for the veterans impacted, and their families. However, the Veterans Center on Flowermound is operated by the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs, and issues with their water system are under ODVA’s jurisdiction, not the City of Lawton’s. While City of Lawton workers aren’t responsible for managing this facilities water services, we are on standby and prepared to assist the VA Center with sanitizing their waterlines if requested.”