Last week a Gardena resident posted a YouTube video of black water coming from her Gardena home faucet and toilet. The video generated a response from viewers, including the water supplier, Golden State Water Company.
Diane Morita posted video of the running water, which is so dark that light cannot pass through the liquid.
Morita held up a jar of the dark fluid and said, it looks like “there is charcoal in the water. I don’t think anyone would drink this water.”
Last week a Gardena resident posted a YouTube video of black water coming from her Gardena home faucet and toilet. The video generated a response from viewers, including the water supplier, Golden State Water Company.
Diane Morita posted video of the running water, which is so dark that light cannot pass through the liquid.
Morita held up a jar of the dark fluid and said, it looks like “there is charcoal in the water. I don’t think anyone would drink this water.”
A GSWC official reportedly called it an “isolated” incident, but KTLA news investigators talked to neighbors who made similar claims. The GSWC manager also said that the discolored water “is not” dangerous, but also told a TV reporter that regarding Morita’s water sample, we “have not been able to do testing on that water.”
The GSWC general manager (southwest district) Kate Nutting did say, “we take samples throughout the distribution system, throughout our water pipes, throughout our service area every single week. All of the testing we have done has indicated that the water is safe to drink.”
Emy Sebastian of Gardena told a TV news reporter that her water is black and has small stones, and smells like a sewer.
Morita said she is concerned about the health risks the water has on her family.
“We have a dog with cancer,” Morita said. “One of my daughters has skin issues.”
Some residents have contacted GSWC with similar complaints.
Charlotte Lynch told KTLA news that her tap water is “light brown, gooey, gobby… and spider-web stuff.”
The water company continues to investigate the matter. Nutting acknowledged that customer complaints of discolored and odorous water have been brought to GSWC’s attention in recent months, as reported by the Daily Breeze.
She said that such complaints are common with “old cast-iron and steel water mains in any water system. As the pipes get older, sometimes the materials or minerals on the pipes an sluff off.”
If the pipes are the source of the water problems, Nutting said that it poses no health risks. She said the water is safe to drink.
GSWC officials said they have developed a strategic plan to regularly flush aging pipes, which should improve if not resolve the situation.
Flushing activities are expected to continue for the next several weeks, water officials said.
Morita told a news group that in the mean time, the water company has agreed to pay for bottled water for her family.
