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Residents press Mabton council over water quality and lack of Spanish notices; city schedules June 1 forum
Summary
Several residents told the council they cannot use tap water, asked why they keep paying bills for unusable water, and urged Spanish translations and better emergency notifications; the city said water has been chlorinated, will post more information, and scheduled an open forum on June 1.
Multiple residents used the visitor‑comment period to press the council about recurring water problems and language access in city communications.
One resident said she and many neighbors "can't use" the city water and asked, "Why do we have to pay more for our water bill for water that we can't use?" She urged the city to provide billing and public notices in Spanish and accused past administrations of poor transparency.
Council members acknowledged the concerns and said the city had begun testing the water. The chair said the water had been chlorinated and "our numbers are good," while also scheduling an open forum on June 1 at the library for staff to explain what transpired. The chair said a water operator would be online at 7 p.m. to provide further details.
Residents and councilors also criticized delays in notifying the public — one councilor said the school learned about a morning incident only by 12:30 p.m. from Facebook — and urged more frequent social‑media and local postings during such events.
The meeting moved to an executive session to consult legal counsel about potential litigation after public comment; no action was taken in open session during the study meeting.
