https://www.propublica.org/article/oklahoma-oil-polluted-drinking-water-boarman-family

Salty, Oily Drinking Water Left Sores in Their Mouths. Oklahoma Refused to Find Out Why.
by Nick Bowlin, The Frontier
February 12, 2026, 5:00 am

In the summer of 2022, months after Tammy Boarman and her husband, Chris, moved into their newly built “forever home” 30 miles from Oklahoma City, the plants in their yard began to turn yellow. The shrubs wilted, though Tammy watered them often. And the couple began to notice a salty taste in their drinking water.

The water came from a private well, drilled the year before, and they hoped that the bad taste would fade with time and with the help of a water softener.

But the problem grew worse. Their ice maker expelled large clumps of wet salt, which, when rubbed, dissolved into an oily, foul-smelling substance.

The couple knew that some oil and gas extraction took place nearby. Down dirt roads and behind stands of oak trees in their neighborhood, pump jacks nodded up and down, pulling up oil. This is a common sight in Oklahoma. Several studies estimate that about half the state’s residents live within a mile of oil and gas wells.

...

and fast. We’re talking about “water”.