Residents in Weedpatch have been without water since last week, forcing families to ration what little water they have and seek basic necessities elsewhere.
Arturo Estrada, who has lived in the community since 2013, said this is the worst water crisis he has experienced. When I visited his home, he demonstrated the severity of the situation by turning on his faucet.
"There's no water... We turn this on and see... There's not a single drop of water," Estrada said. "It's stressful because you limit yourself from going to the restroom… Instead the small water that we do have we use it for cooking that way my wife has water to do the dishes."
Less than a mile away, Rogelio and Dolores Ayala are facing similar struggles. The couple has been forced to visit family members' homes for basic needs like showering and laundry.
"Go to family's houses and take showers. Can't do laundry. I have pets that I have to go get water for. And, I mean, you know, nobody's doing anything to help," Rogelio Ayala said.
Ayala, who has called Weedpatch home since he was 4 years old, feels the community has been forgotten.
"We just feel nobody cares. And it's not only us, it's the whole little town right here. Oh, whole little community? Yeah, without water," Ayala said.
Manuel Contreras, president of Athal Mutual Water Company, acknowledged that the well has had issues in the past, but said this current problem is more severe.
"But I'm not as big as this one today is we almost have to replace the whole thing in the motor with the pump," Contreras said.
Workers began repairs on the well Thursday. Contreras said he hopes the 55 homes affected will have running water restored by Saturday night or Sunday at the latest.
"We want to make sure the company who's doing this do right. We want this happens in a few months or a couple of years us having the same problem and people be asking the same questions, what happened? We had a new motor and And we still have the same problems, so we're trying to make sure this done right," Contreras said.
The ongoing water issues have prompted some residents to consider switching providers. Estrada said most neighbors want to connect with the water company in Lamont, the closest city to Weedpatch.
"What we ask for all of the neighbors is to connect us with the water company in Lamont it's the closets city to us," Estrada said.
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