A year after footage surfaced of brown water emerging from faucets in East Palo Alto, residents remain concerned about the current water quality uncertainty.
According to a recent survey by Nuestra Casa, a Bay Area non-profit dedicated to water justice, 75% of EPA residents buy and drink bottled water instead of using the tap. Others have to use water filters to use the water from their homes.
Advocate Belinda Magallon of Nuestra Casa says that local residents reached out to Nuestra Casa after the organization started investigating reports of unclean water in East Palo Alto in 2021. Magallon shares the experiences of local residents.
“Some people were saying that there’s brown water coming out of their faucet at certain times of the year,” Magallon said. “Their hair feels like it’s falling out after they shower, or their skin feels super dry.”
41.8% of surveyed residents reported that their water quality was “bad”, as opposed to only 12% of residents expressing that it was “good.” The largest concern after housing affordability was water quality due to its impact on families and the broader community.
Magallon says that the issues are causing financial burdens among tenants in the city.
“Changing your filter all the time can be very costly,” Magallon said. “It’s an extra cost and a burden on our community members.”