Water delivered to Friant community as boil water advisory continues

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Communities near Millerton Lake remain under a boil water advisory issued nearly two weeks ago.

To help ease the burden on people in the area, the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission handed out cases of water.

"This is all just due to the recent storm events," said Diego Noriega, Fresno County Water Works District 18. "With the water that we have coming out of the dam, coming down the mountains. It's just been really hard for our treatment facility to treat the water."

Those January storms disrupted water quality in Millerton Lake, placing the surrounding area under a boil water advisory. Noriega estimated the advisory impacts 800 of their customers.

Access to water isn't just inconvenient for some; it's a matter of health.

"Because I'm diabetic, so I have to drink water, a lot of water and I can't afford to drink bad water and get sick," said Ruben Gonzales, who picked up water.

Others pointed to the financial burden on the community.

"Now we have to boil water, and your gas bill is going up, or some people are going out and buying water they wouldn't normally buy, which then that's costing a lot more money," said Brian Whaley, who picked up water.

To help ease that burden, the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission teamed up with the county to hand out one thousand cases of water on Friday.

"All the residents that are in the vulnerable population in that community we want to make sure that we are able to assist in anything that we can at this moment," said Gilda Arreguin, Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission.

For those who couldn't get to the Waterworks office, volunteers with the Local Conservation Corps brought the water to them.

Looking ahead, leaders and community members want to ensure the advisory ends as soon as possible, and this doesn't happen again.

"I know our county has reached out to the state as well as FEMA, letting them know how we're being impacted, and so where there are opportunities to get both federal and state funds, the county will take advantage of that and work with our districts here to try and get their systems up and running as quickly as possible," said Nathan Magsig, Fresno County Board of Supervisors.

Magsig said filters need to be replaced, which cost $1,200 to $1,500 each, and other upgrades are needed to improve the filtration system.

It's expected this boil water advisory will last at least another two weeks.

People who spoke with ABC30 said the water they picked up Friday, should help them for anywhere from a week to even a month.

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