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The Water is Contaminated. But California Bottled Water Program Isn’t Helping This Town

/in , /by /The Fresno Beeby Monica Vaughan

The cost of buying cases of bottled water for cooking and drinking is adding up for residents of Earlimart, where a contaminated well became the main source of tap water for more than 8,000 people there in late May.

The state Water Resources Control Board that is responsible for drinking water has a program to provide financial assistance for bottled water to help communities in crisis. It has not been available in Earlimart — and it is unclear why.

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Americans Are Told to Wash Hands to Fight Coronavirus. But Some Don’t Trust the Tap

/in , , /by /The Washington Postby Frances Stead Sellers

For the Chavez family and many others in California’s fertile San Joaquin Valley, bottled water is the toilet paper of their coronavirus pandemic — an everyday necessity that vanished from supermarket shelves.

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There’s No Need to Stockpile Water During Coronavirus Pandemic

/in , , /by /Whittier Daily Newsby Vera Robles and Rob Katherman

During the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, worried consumers have been snapping up bottled water as soon as it hits grocery store shelves.

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Officials to Hoarders: Quit Buying Bottled Water

/in , , /by /The Aspen Times (Aspen, Colorado)by David O. Williams

Municipal water providers in Aspen, Vail, Steamboat and other communities say there is no threat from COVID-19 in their water supplies and that people do not need to hoard bottled water — provided that the employees who operate the various water plants can still come to work.

And yet, two weeks into Colorado’s crisis, you still see people exiting the state’s grocery stores with shopping carts brimming with multipacks of 4-ply Charmin or Angel Soft toilet paper. And buried under the TP, you’ll spot the 48-bottle cartons of Arrowhead or Fiji water.

Toilet paper aside, water systems operators around the state — including ski towns, which are among the hardest-hit areas for the novel coronavirus pandemic — do not understand why people think they need to stock up on bottled water.

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No, You Can’t Get COVID-19 From San Francisco Tap Water

/in , , /by /SFGateby Mike Moffitt

Bottled water is disappearing from grocery shelves almost as fast as toilet paper, but there’s no shortage of water in California. There’s plenty flowing right out of your tap. And it’s germ-free and perfectly safe to drink. You can’t get COVID-19 from tap water.

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COVID-19: Not a Threat to California’s Water Supply

/in , , /by /PPICby Lori Pottinger

The COVID-19 health emergency has prompted “panic buying” of bottled water that has emptied store shelves and sown confusion over water safety. We talked to Dave Eggerton—executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) and a member of the PPIC Water Policy Center advisory council—about the state’s municipal water supply in light of the ongoing pandemic. ACWA is a statewide association whose 450 local public water agency members are responsible for about 90% of the water delivered in California.

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Poway Reports 400,000 Water Bottles Available Amid Continuing Supply Contamination

/in , /by /Times of San Diego by Chris Jennewein

The precautionary boil-water advisory for the City of Poway continued into it’s third day on Monday afternoon, with the city reporting it has 400,000 bottles of water available for residents.

“The City of Poway is continuing to take corrective action, performing water quality monitoring, and working toward getting this advisory lifted,” the city said in a statement on its website at 11 a.m.

The advisory was issued at approximately 6 p.m. on Saturday after a day of reports of discolored water. The County of San Diego separately ordered restaurants and produce shelves to be closed.

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