E-Mail Scandal: Fresno Water Operator Under Scrutiny

A former water operator in Fresno, CA, is under the microscope for how he handled complaints from customers about discolored water.

“City leaders said they had no access to the server and the complaints, numbering an estimated 150 to 200 per year. The complaints were never shared with them, nor given to the state Water Resources Control Board as required by law,” The Fresno Bee reported.

The problem appears to have suppressed genuine concerns about water color in the community, which have bubbled out on social media this year despite the brokenness of the city’s customer complaint process.

“The first reports of rust colored water began rolling in shortly after the treatment plant opened in 2004. But the issue did not gain steam until residents began connecting on social media earlier this year,” VPR reported.

The employee “used a private email and cell phone and never reported the complaints to his superiors, a violation of city policy. The complaints also were not made public to the state, which is required under state law,” the report said.

Mayor Ashley Swearengin, City Manager Bruce Rudd, and Thomas Esqueda, director of public utilities, held a news conference to address the scandal last week, updating customers on their investigation. The employee in question was Robert Moorhead, who served as water plant operator until 2011 when he was fired.

“The investigation references Mr. Moorhead’s record keeping system as quote ‘a lot of boxes.’ As a result, we don’t know how many complaints were coming in each year from 2004 to 2011. But those interviewed estimated those calls to be approximately 150 to 200 calls each year,” Swearengin said.

Moorhead denied the city’s allegations.

“Eyewitness News reached out to Moorhead, who tells us his position was cut back in 2010 which is why he lost his job.  He tells us it's true he used a personal computer and cell phone, but says it's because he worked around the clock and needed to be reachable on a phone that was easier to use.  He also says his supervisors made the call to have complaints transferred to him,” YourCentralValley.com reported.

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