[UPDATE: Boil Notice Lifted] Residents Concerned About Communication Regarding Water Safety in Weott

The small community of Weott is still under a boil notice for their household water. Some residents are concerned that many of the residents are unaware that they should not be drinking the tap water, and they are taking it upon themselves to spread the word and make sure they have safe drinking water.

On August 27th the Weott Community Services District (WCSD) issued a boil notice on their website and began distributing notices to residents and businesses. The boil notice came at the same time as the sudden and unexpected death of the district’s general manager, Gary Neumann.

According to WCSD Vice Chairperson, Lou Iglesias, the water issue was caused from the failure of a chlorine pump. Iglesias told us that the district was able to borrow another pump from a neighboring district quickly and that the test results were within limits the next day. However, the district needs three consecutive tests showing appropriate chlorine levels to discontinue the boil notice. As of now, the district is awaiting the third and final test before notifying the WCSD customers that their water is once again safe to drink.

Some residents are concerned about the lack of notice to customers, claiming that the boil notices came days late or not at all.

In an article by KIEM News, Weott resident Amber Allen said, “On August 31st, we had a man come and hand us a community member, harness a boil water notice and said we should have been handed it three or four days prior. So he’s just getting it to us a little late and that we should not drink the tap water. And we said we were already feeding it to our animals..”

Allen’s family pet Rufus died shortly thereafter. Though it is unproven, Allen suspects her otherwise healthy dog died due to drinking the WCSD water before she was notified of the boil notice. However, to the best of our knowledge, no other animal or person’s sickness is tied to the water issue.

Mitch Marlin, a Eureka resident and long-time friend of Allen’s family, read heard the news of the boil notice and Rufus’s death and offered his help immediately. Allen, according to Marlin, is concerned that not enough of an effort has been made to notify the residents or provide drinking water.

Marlin is also concerned that boiling water does not guarantee water safety, stating that boiling water does not remove chemicals or heavy metals. The chlorine pump that malfunctioned was used for disinfecting biologicals, which boiling water is also effective alternative according to the State Water Resource Control Board. The SWRCB website states that a boil water notice is used when, “The water supply has a microbiological contaminant that can be rendered safe by boiling the water or by using bottled water. The notice may provide detailed instructions for manual disinfection by the consumer, where appropriate. This is the most commonly used notice.”

Marlin believes that residents should have been provided bottled water, especially when trust in the water system has been compromised. In an effort to make sure the Weott residents have safe drinking water, Marlin Marlin and Allen got five pallets of bottled water donated to the community from Ray’s Food Place and Food for People. Allen and her son RJ were recently delivering cases of water to residents. Some, according to Marlin’s account, were still unaware that a boil notice had been in affect two weeks after the notice went into effect.

Iglesia could not confirm the timing of notice deliveries stating that the district was severely impacted by Neumann’s death. As Neumann’s partner, Julie Santibanez, the district’s secretary was greatly impacted by his death. Iglesia said that, even in her time of grief, Santibanez has taken little time off, committed to the district’s needs as they deal with a mechanical failure and loss of their general manager at once.

The WCSD did hold two emergency board meetings, one on August 29th and the other on September 3rd that addressed Neumann’s passing and the hurdles the district was facing including an update on the boil notice.

However, residents are asking for more direct and timely communication from the district when notifying residents of issues regarding their water. One resident wrote, “I’ve had a handful of years worth of complaints of the Weott Community Services District, but THIS is important. The water isn’t safe to drink without boiling.”

Marlin is concerned that the methods of communication are not reaching all the residents, and those that do receive the information, still don’t understand what exactly has caused the boil notice or when the issues will be dealt with. “Amber has thousands of dollars in vet bills but no answers,” he stated.

As of the publishing of this article, the Weott Community Services District is still under a boil notice. For more information on the boil notice, click here: Boil Water Notice – Weott Community Services District (weottcsd.com)

Concerned residents can contact the WCSD at (707) 946-2367, by emailing [email protected] or by attending the next monthly board meeting at 175 Lum Street on September 27th at 7 p.m.

This article is written by Lisa Music, a local freelance journalist. To reach Lisa about tips, questions or comments, email her at [email protected]

Update 9/13 8:56 a.m.: Supervisor Michelle Bushnell contacted us today to let us know that she had been informed by Barry Sutter from the State Drinking Water Office, that the boil notice in Weott was lifted as of yesterday, September 12th.

In a voice message to Bushnell, Sutter stated, “We did lift the boil advisory today. …They have good, solid chlorine residual, adequate for disinfection.”

Update 9/13 11:40 a.m.: The WCSD’s website has the boil notice still posted, yet WCSD Vice Chairperson, Iglesias, told us that the boil notice has ended. Santibanez who is in charge of updating the website is taking some personal time and will update the website when she is available. He wrote, “In the meantime, the “official” green water announcement has been distributed to all our customers.”