People in two Southern California communities are fed up with the way their tap water looks and smells.
And residents want more done to permanently fix the problem.
Norma Hernandez has lived in her Compton home for more than 20 years, but she says the last few have been a nightmare.
“So they said that the problem has been re-sent but it hasn’t,” Hernandez said.
That’s because this is what’s coming out–dirty, smelly, and brown water.
“it’s just horrible,” Hernandez said. “There’s no one that can drink this water, cook with it, or do anything.”
On Tuesday, officials with the Sativa L.A. County Water District, that serves Compton and Willowbrook, held a press conference to address concerns.
They were met by angry residents who say they are fed up. Many are already meeting with attorneys about a class action lawsuit.
Even so, water district officials announced an aggressive new program to clean the 80-year-old pipelines, which they say are the cause of the discoloration and odd smelling water.
It’s called flushing and now will be done four times a year.
“We open up the hydrants and throw high-velocity pressure,” water district spokeswoman Maria Rachelle Garza said. “We try to clean up as much sediments as we can.”
Officials showed how it worked and the clean water after, but people living there say it’s been done before, and they don’t believe their water is safe to drink.
“It’s very scary the way that the water looks actually,” Compton resident Chae Larson said. “And I have no idea what’s in there.”
Now, the district says the discolored water is safe to drink.
Health inspectors were out taking samples.
But Hernandez says even after the flushing on Tuesday and seeing her water running mostly clean, she doesn’t trust it.
She says it’s been done before and ends up like this days later.