Down To Earth

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Lakeview’s government has held town halls about the new treatment plant in an effort to win back the public’s trust and ease concerns about safety.

Parry, the town manager, said she knew the town’s pipes were in disrepair for at least a year before making a public announcement this month, because she didn’t want people to be “freaked out.”

“I think that that’s unfair for us to talk about it and to put that information out into the public unless we have a solution,” Parry said.

Without any clear path for solutions, some residents seem resigned to living with discolored, smelly water.

Harlan, 41, remembers her mother and grandmother discussing their concerns that the water was having some sort of effect on the family’s health.

“They always felt like something was in the water,” she said. Harlan’s mother died of uterine cancer. Her children suffer from chronic illness. She’s also had health issues her entire life, and she worries the water could be to blame. Now, as an adult, she tries to use the town’s water as little as possible.

“I do not drink the water,” she said. “I don’t use it for my cooking. I don’t use it for my coffee. My pets don’t use it.”

Yutximy Santiago has lived in Lakeview for 12 years and said she’s mostly learned to adapt — don’t wash clothes on certain days. Stick to drinking bottled water, if you can.

“When I saw it the first time, I thought it was really gross. But now it’s like a normal thing. I guess you get used to it,” Santiago said.