A TikTok video has gone viral for accusing the city of Kent of dumping materials into the Akron water supply.  

The video was titled “City of Kent uses the Akron water supply for dumping (again),” and it was posted on July 8 by user JK Blake. The post has since garnered over 12,000 likes and 300 comments. 

At 19 seconds long, the short clip showcases a truck dumping materials into a treeline with the caption, “I live across the street from a wetlands (one of the water supplies for the city of Akron.) The city of Kent loves dumping dirt and broken equipment back there.” 

On July 9, the Kent Parks and Recreation Department released a statement clarifying the post as misinformation after an investigation into the matter. 

The release confirmed it was a city of Kent truck in the video, but that it was just dumping gravel to prevent erosion in an area commonly washed out by rainwater. The release also stated that the dumping area wasn’t a wetland, and that it was more than two miles from the Lake Rockwell Water Plant, where the city of Akron receives its water supply. 

Other clarifications in the release include that drainage in the area goes downstream into the Cuyahoga River off city limits and that no runoff could make it into the water supply. Lastly, the city of Akron Water Supply Bureau was on site July 9 and confirmed Kent made no wrongdoings. 

Following the initial video, Blake uploaded multiple other posts restating their perspective on the matter. One post was a direct response to the Parks and Recreation statement, with Looney Tunes audio and the caption, “What a succinct memo from the city of Kent.”

This is a developing story. 

John Engoglia is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].