Gardena residents angered by return of black water

GARDENA, Calif. (KABC) -- Gardena residents demanded answers Thursday after enduring the return of smelly black sludge pouring out of the taps of their homes.

Golden State Water Company held a public meeting Thursday night to address the issue. Residents showed up with samples of the black water.

"I heard a lot of customers who complained about the quality of their water and I took it hard," said Kate Nutting, general manager of the southwest district of the Golden State Water Company.

In the short term, she says the company will flush the system line by line with high velocity to clean out any sediment from the pipes. In the long term, the company plans to aggressively replace old water mains.

Last month, tap water came out looking like used motor oil. At the time, the Golden State Water Company flushed the line and deemed the drinking water safe.

Nutting maintains the water is safe to drink, leaving those in attendance frustrated and unsatisfied.

"I want to see that we can have some water that we can drink. When your dog doesn't want to drink the water out of the toilet you know you got a problem," Gardena resident Tom Christmas said.

"It's not acceptable to me. It's not acceptable to put my family's health at risk with this black water, because I don't know what's in it," Gardena resident Diane Morita said.

Morita said the black water came out of her shower. Her neighbors across the street saw their water filters turn from bright white to jet black.

"It's disgusting," Gardena resident Venilee Sebastian said.

Sebastian says the water was clear on Thursday, but noted that's not always the case. She now only drinks bottled water.

"It would be on and off, the smell. It would be really bad and the smell would linger. That's the worst part about it," Sebastian said.