Fresno Families File Lawsuit Against City Claiming Water Contamination
By Peak Johnson
The city of Fresno, CA, and private contractors there have been accused by residents of allowing dangerous levels of lead and other harmful substances to enter the water supply.
The class action lawsuit was filed on September 9, according to the national environmental law firm Williams Cuker Berezofsky, which reported via PR Newswire. Still merely an accusation, the residents claim that a 2004 change in water supply from groundwater to surface water made it unsafe to drink.
At the time, residents attempted to explain that this change would damage the water chemistry and result in pipe corrosion, PR Newswire reported. This would in turn cause lead to contaminate Fresno’s drinking water.
The problem was exasperated between 2008 and 2012 when Fresno and its private contractors installed brass water meters and improperly connected them to galvanized pipes, according to the PR Newswire report. This type of connection can expedite pipe corrosion and increase the potential for lead contamination, the report said.
Esther Berezofsky, attorney with Williams Cuker Berezofsky, is representing the residents who are filing the lawsuit.
"The city and other responsible government agencies were negligent in their duty to properly monitor water, report results of water quality testing to the State as required, and ensure its residents receive safe drinking water,” Berezofsky said per PR Newswire.
According to the court filing, when issues of “discolored water” was first reported as early as 2004, the complaints were ignored by the city.
The city also did not report the incoming complaints or test the water, even though that is required by the State Water Resources Board, according to PR Newswire.
The U.S. EPA standard for lead in water is 15 ppb. PR Newswire reported that city testing of 40 percent of Fresno homes “had water that exceeded the acceptable level.”
The EPA has stated that lead exposure, especially in children who are exposed to the chemical at a young age, can lead to a damaged nervous system and, among other health issues, learning disabilities.