For years, the community of Athal has been fighting for clean water, and on September 1, the California Water Board issued a mandatory consolidation order to the Athal Mutual Water Company so that residents would be under the Lamont Public Utility District (PUD). Their drinking water is contaminated with 1,2,3 TCP (1,2,3-Trichloropropane), which is a chemical that causes cancer in animals and likely causes cancer in humans as well, according to the California Water Board’s website.
In January of 2026, the community’s water was shut off due to a broken well, resulting in them having to buy water for cleaning, bathing, and cooking. During this time, Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability found out about the contaminated water and started working with the community. They assisted them in sending a petition to the water board.
Erik Orellana, Senior Policy Advocate for Leaders Counsel for Justice and Accountability, stated that when they submitted a document request to the Athual Mutal Water company, they were ignored. He explained that since they were not getting many answers from the water company, they turned to the board.
“I’ll also say that once we started to get answers about the timeline for the project, it was kind of clear that there really wasn’t anyone speaking up for this community and kind of getting the concerns of the residents up to what is the enforcement agency that is responsible for enforcing against a failing water system,” said Orellena. “And so once we were able to kind of share the experiences of some of the residents, the sentiments they were feeling, I think the State Water Board better understood the situation that the community was facing.”
Having safe drinking water is a human right in California, and Orellana stated that residents he spoke to expressed health concerns, and some contemplated leaving their homes, but the consolidation order provides a piece of hope.
“This community is really paying a very high price for water that they can’t do very much with. You know, they can’t drink it,” Orellana explained. “Some folks report experiencing health challenges because of even showering in the water. I’ve talked to residents who have newborns, and they bathe their kids in bottled water because of the fear of what the water might do to their newborns. And I think ultimately, this order provides a great sense of hope to residents in the community. I had talked to some folks who, because of really the failure of the water company and the attitude that people running this water company had taken towards their customers, and they’re the shareholders of the water company. They had thought of moving, selling their homes, trying to just go somewhere else that, you know, they don’t have to face the challenges of a failing water system.”
Community member Irene Sanchez is one of the signatures on the petition, and she spoke to the health concerns with the water as well.
“It’s just not safe. So it’s like people use this for cooking. People use this to clean themselves. It’s just people use it to wash clothes. I mean, maybe that’s why we have so many skin allergies, you know. So many rashes, irritants, bumps. I’m pretty sure it all goes back to the water,” said Sanchez. “My hands get super dry and red whenever I wash my hands.”
According to Sanchez, although their water no longer has a smell, it still looks murky.
She and her family were relieved to hear that the order was sent. Sanchez explained that she and other community members are thankful for Orellana and the Leadership Council for Justice and Accountability.
“I was happy. It was more like relief. You know, I’m sure a bunch of people felt that way. I know my family did,” she explained.
After the water system is under Lamont PUD, Sanchez stated she is looking forward to being able to use their water without getting backlash from the Athal Mutual Water Company, such as being charged an extra $50 if someone sees a puddle in front of her house.
“I think I’ll be able to do many things, you know. I’m not actually worried that we might get charged an extra fee because I decided I wanted to wash my car at my house,” said Sanchez. “Or have a water slide party. I mean we live in Bakersfield. It’s so hot here.”
Andrew Altevogt, Assistant Deputy Director with the Division of Drinking Water at the State Water Board, stated that they had already been working on the consolidation order when the petition from the community was sent to them.
“It seemed that it had gotten to the point where, in order to protect the water quality as much as possible and make progress on the consolidation that we needed to move from the voluntary consolidation to mandatory,” said Altevogt. “And furthermore, that we needed to have because of the limited resources and things and of the Athal water system, bringing in Lamont to manage the system was the best outcome for the people who lived in Athal.”
He stated that there are several parts and deadlines to the order, but the final deadline for Athal Mutual Water Company to turn everything in is 90 business days after the order was sent. If the water company has not turned over the information by the deadline, the water board does have enforcement authority and would decide then what the next step is.
For next steps for the community, Altevogt stated that Lamont PUD will be working with the community to transition their accounts over. He also stated that there is not a set time frame yet for when all of the changes will be done and that this is the first step in a longer process but this is the first step and he is thankful for the community’s engagement in the process. It’s just not safe. So it’s like people use this for cooking. People use this to clean themselves. It’s just people use it to wash clothes. I mean maybe that’s (we have so many skin allergies you know. So many rashes, irritants, bumps. I’m pretty sure it all goes back to the water,” said Sanchez. “My hands get super dry and red whenever I wash my hands.”
According to Sanchez, although their water nolonger has smell it still looks murky.
She and her family were relived to know hear that the order was sent. Sanchez explained that she and other community members are thankful for Orllena and the Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability.
“I was happy. It was more like relief. You know, I’m sure a bunch of people felt that way. I know my family did,” she explained.
After the water system is under Lamont PUD, Sanchez stated she is looking forward to being able to use their water without getting backlash from the Athal Mutual Water Company such as being charged an extra $50 if someone sees a puddle in front of her house.
“I think I’ll be able to do many things you know. I’m not actually worried that we might get charged an extra fee you know because I decided I wanted to wash my car at my house,” said Sanchez. “Or have a water slide party you know. I mean we live in Bakersfield. It’s so hot here.”
Andrew Altevogt, Assistant Deputy Direct with the Division of Drinking Water at the State Water Board stated that they had already been working on the consolidation order when the petition from the community was sent to them.
“It seemed that it had gotten to the point where in order to protect the water quality as much as possible and make progress on the consolidation that we needed to move from the voluntary consolidation to mandatory,” said Altevogt. “And furthermore, that we needed to have because of the limited resources and things and of the Athal water system, bringing in Lamont to manage the system was the best was the best outcome for the people who lived in Athal.”
He stated that there are several parts and deadlines to the order but the final deadline for Athal Mutal Water company to turn overything in is 90 business days after the oder was sent. If the water company has not turn over the information by the deadline that the water board does have enforcement authority and would decide then what the next step is.
For next steps for the community, Altevogt stated that Lamont PUD will be working with the community to transition their accounts over. He also stated that there is not a set time frame yet for when all of the changes will be done and that this is the first step in a longer process but this is the first step and he is thankful for the community’s engagement in the process.
