“We don’t want to drink our water, because our water is black,” Emy Sebastian of Gardena, California, told KXAN. “My daughter says, ‘Mommy the water is black and it stinks. Why does the water stink?’ She doesn’t want to wash her clothes.”
— MissNonstop (@LianaMarie74) January 27, 2015
"Throwing up, going to the bathroom," she went on. "After two days, my oldest daughter is sick, too. After one week, I get sick, too."
One anonymous resident told KTLA that her daughter has recently developed a skin rash, for which she blames the putrid, dark water.
The strange occurrence has been upsetting SoCal residents off and on for months, and they feel as though the authorities aren’t doing enough to fix the situation.
Diane Morita, who lives in Gardena, told NBC4 the water “has an odor of rotten eggs or sewer smell. I’m concerned because it’s getting worse, if it’s even safe.”
— A. Partí (@PartiPants27) January 27, 2015
The utility company that services Gardena, Golden State Water, told Morita it’s perfectly safe.
In addition to the ick factor, the situation is costing Gardena money. Residents have to buy bottled water to drink and pay to replace water heater filters that have become clogged. According to Breitbart, when one resident complained of the mounting costs, Golden State Water promised to credit her just $10.
— jessica (@rosemarysbaby13) January 27, 2015
The company told NBC4 they are investigating the situation and insist the black water is an isolated occurrence.
Kate Nutting, general manager for Golden State, said that “the water is clear right now we will continue to investigate to determine what caused it last Wednesday, what has caused it in the past so that we can prevent it from happening again.”
