FRESNO (KMJ) – Fresno city leaders on Tuesday were addressing reports of discolored water flowing in some homes in Northeast fresno.
Of the 14,000 homes in the Northeast section of the city, 320 have reported tainted water flowing out from faucets.
The City of Fresno conducted testing of samples at 39 homes and found that 69 faucets had traces of lead above EPA action levels —only four of those were kitchen faucets.
City Manager Bruce Rudd stressed during the press conference on July 5th, that Fresno was not another case of Flint Michigan, with less than 1% of the water having a problem, which he says stems from galvanized pipes on the affected residents’ own private property – not the water flowing out from the city.
Tommy Esqueda, the Public Utilities Director, also spoke about results of the City of Fresno testing samples at six Northeast Fresno schools. 30 samples were taken, 26 coming back with no lead detected, while four showed lead in levels below EPA standards. Esqueda says there are still three schools to be tested.
Mayoral Candidate Henry Perea held a press event, Tuesday, at the home of Northeast Fresno resident Lauren Hager, just prior to the city’s press conference. She said with brown water coming from her faucets she worries for her son Bryce’s health.
Hager said it would cost her and other residents thousands of dollars to rip out and replace bad pipes.
Perea called for swift action by the city, including forming neighborhood groups, testing more schools, and sharing the city’s findings with the County Health Department.
He did compliment Esqueda’s efforts – saying if he’d been there at the city ten years earlier this problem wouldn’t have happened.
City Manager Rudd said too much misinformation and inaccuracies about the probelm are being spread on social media sites like Facebook, and again stressed the city water is safe and drinkable. He said that residents should run the water first to clear out the brown color.
Rudd says the city will be mailing out flyers this week asking residents in the 93720 and 93730 zip codes to fill out a water survey, which is also available on the city’s website, as they attempt to gather more data to set a baseline.
Rudd also wants to reach out to residents in Northwest Fresno to see if there are any homes affected, there. He said the city is working to find a solution for those affected homes and there may be rebates and help with loans.
Rudd added that mayoral candidates needed to check facts for inaccuracies before proposing solutions and action plans.
