Mountain View residents still without clean water days after contamination incident
Mountain View neighborhood without water
Residents in one Mountain View neighborhood have been without clean water since a water main incident Friday. Now its loolking like it may take sevreal more days for the problem to be resolved.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - Residents in a neighborhood near Mountain View’s Cuesta Park are facing a multi-day water crisis after a contractor accidentally contaminated the area's water supply.
Contaminated water
What we know:
The issue began Friday when a contractor working on a city water main poured cement slurry into an abandoned line that was not fully disconnected from the system. Subsequent tests confirmed the presence of bacteria in the water samples, forcing the city to restrict usage.
The disruptions have forced residents to alter their daily routines, from doing laundry to cooking.
"Washing dishes for school lunches, it's a process," said Janet Brown, a resident. "You just have to use bottled water for that anyway. It just takes longer, and it’s less convenient."
Approximately 66 homes are affected. While water was initially shut off completely, the city has restored service for toilet flushing only.
Lenka Wright, chief communications officer for the city of Mountain View, said officials are providing resources to help residents manage the outage.
"We have crews dropping off cases of water, also hand sanitizer," Wright said. "We have been providing shower facilities at our pools."
The city is also covering the cost of hotel stays for those who need them. Despite the frustration, some residents reported they are coping well due to the city’s transparency.
"We're managing it pretty well," said resident Rene Casali. "The city’s been great about communication, and so we’re using the option to stay in hotels to bathe."
Delayed timeline
Officials initially hoped to resolve the issue by Monday, but the timeline has been extended. Mike Vasquez, utility services manager for Mountain View, said the remediation process is ongoing.
"That involves flushing and water quality monitoring on a continuous basis, as well as water quality sampling to go out to laboratories," Vasquez said.
The latest samples have been sent for testing. City officials said they will not restore water for full use until they are absolutely certain it is safe. At that point, residents will receive instructions on how to properly flush their home lines.
The city hopes to have the water fully restored by the middle or end of this week.
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