Following a TikTok video that accused the city of Kent of contaminating the Akron water supply by dumping materials, city officials have labeled the video as misinformation.
The now deleted video titled “City of Kent uses the Akron water supply for dumping (again)” was uploaded on July 8 by user JK Blake, and it immediately prompted the Kent Parks and Recreation Department to release a statement after the post received thousands of views. Blake’s follow-up posts on the topic have also been deleted.
Angela Manley, Kent’s director of parks and recreation, wrote the statement, which explained the department made no wrongdoings in its actions. She said she was surprised someone would make such an accusation.
“I was a little shocked that somebody had misconstrued exactly what our parks crew was doing, and I knew right away that we had a viable explanation,” Manley said. “It was unfortunately just one of those things the video took out of context.”
Scott Moegling, Akron Water Supply Bureau manager, also said Kent’s actions had no effect on the water supply. He said the location of the dumping area was within Kent city limits and downstream the Akron water supply on the north side of Longcoy Avenue at Majors Lane.
Moegling added the area was near the Akron water transmission lines, but that the Kent trucks weren’t oversized to cause damage to pipes, and the dumping materials were described as “clean fill” and free of contamination.
“We have no concerns with any of Kent’s activities in this area,” Moegling said. “We also were in communication with the Ohio EPA throughout the fact-finding process, and they are in agreement with Akron’s conclusion that this is a non-issue.”
Manley and Moegling both said they’ve not had any contact with Blake. No one in the Akron community has reached out to city officials to ask about water safety concerns, Moegling said. Manley said only one Kent community member reached out to learn more about the situation.
While Manley was glad Blake deleted the accusation videos and that the city was able to correct the misinformation, she hopes community members reach out to the city for potential concerns in future instances.
“Anytime somebody has a question, I encourage them to ask the question and go to the source to get the explanation or information that they might not be aware of,” Manley said. “In this case, there were multiple points to be made as far as an explanation. I encourage people to contact the appropriate departments or organizations directly and this could all be avoided.”
Manley also said she’s glad the situation has come to a close and that the city hasn’t faced any backlash from any misinformed residents. She added Kent deeply cares about its local environment and works hard to protect it.
“We are very mindful of our environment and all of our assets that we have here within the city,” Manley said. “We take precautions every day to protect all of those amenities.”
Blake could not be reached for comment.
John Engoglia is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].
