A water issue that spans months in the Stanislaus County city of Hickman has led to daily shut-offs, a boil water notice and growing frustration among residents and school officials.
The problem began in March when clay from the walls of the city's oldest well collapsed into the water system, according to Waterford City Manager Michael Pitcock. Although the water has consistently tested free of bacteria and is technically safe to drink, many residents have reported discolored orange or yellow tap water.
"It looked like sewage, like urine," said resident Heaven Jobe, who lives in Hickman with her mother. "We're boiling our water just to cook. They didn't offer a single bottle of water. Not one."
To address the issue, the city hired American Pipeline Solutions to perform a process called ice pigging. The method uses an ice slushy mixture to scrub the inner walls of the water pipes, removing built-up sediment that traditional flushing hasn't been able to clear.
"They've been doing some flushing out here for a large number of weeks," said Randy Lewis with American Pipeline Solutions. "The amount of sediment we're able to get out in just one single push: they couldn't touch it over three or four months of flushing."
The ice pigging process requires the water system to be completely shut down each day from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., triggering a boil notice under state regulations. Officials say water service will resume normally once the system passes two consecutive days of bacteria testing.
But the lack of advanced communication has left Hickman School scrambling. Superintendent Trish Anderson says she's made multiple attempts to meet with city officials without success.
"I'm running a school of over 1,000 kids. We got less than 12 hours' notice that the water would be off," Anderson said. "We've been replacing our filters monthly and buying bottled water. I'm done being patient."
Anderson said the school paid $600 for independent water testing and has spent even more on emergency water supplies to stay compliant with state education code.
Pitcock told CBS13 via email that he will be out of the office until Monday. No other comment was provided besides the press release given to residents.
The city says ice pigging is expected to wrap up by Wednesday.
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