Sanger residents continue to voice frustrations over low water pressure

SANGER, Calif. (KFSN) -- People living in Sanger say low water pressure has been a menace over the past couple of years.

"Well, 2A is down -- that's the one by our Greenwood Park and that's been going on rehab for quite a while now," says Sanger Mayor Eli Ontiveros.

City officials started rehab on that well back in December, but maintenance has been ongoing, which has led to continuous disruptions.

"When it comes to the part where they have to bring portable bathrooms to the school kids because they can't use the toilet because you can't flush them," says Joseph Rocha. "Some of the homes, you have to have buckets to flush your own waste."

Businesses in the area are also being affected. On Saturday, Walmart was forced to close its doors for hours because customers were unable to use restrooms due to low water pressure.

RELATED: Residents frustrated, Walmart shut down due to water issues in Sanger

The solution in the meantime was porta-a-potties -- a short-term fix that residents say they won't put up with.

"Quit thinking about yourselves and think about the people of Sanger," says George Willhoite. "These people are taking buckets of water so they can bathe."

As members of the community continue to wait for a long-term solution, new questions are emerging.

"How did we get to this point," Rocha said. "Maintenance, they say it's a part that shut down one of the wells that they probably don't make those parts anymore because they're so old. Well, you guys didn't know that?"

One of the broken wells is undergoing state testing and is expected to be fully functional by Friday to help bring some relief.

"Hopefully, this is the last Summer that our residents will have to deal with this," Ontiveros said. "They are taxpayers -- taxpayers foot the bill for all this infrastructure and they deserve good water pressure."