Fresno City Hall — Photo: Jeff Stiefer — CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Fresno County Warned Shaver Springs Families Not to Drink Their Water — Days After Supervisor Drank It on Camera
Families in Shaver Springs learned they shouldn’t be drinking their tap water or cooking with it — uranium levels are too high, state and county officials say.
The warning came after Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig posted a video of himself drinking water from four wells in the community, defending the water’s safety after residents spent weeks asking the Board of Supervisors for help.
At Tuesday’s board meeting, residents said Magsig had refused to drink water they brought him at a community meeting last month. Magsig showed the taste-test video in response.
Residents have been reporting discolored water for weeks. Some say they can’t shower every day because of it. Families are buying bottled water.
The Breakdown
- State and county officials issued a “do not drink, do not cook” advisory for Shaver Springs water due to elevated uranium levels.
- The advisory followed weeks of resident complaints about water safety.
- Supervisor Magsig, who represents Shaver Springs, had posted a video showing himself drinking well water from the community to dispute residents’ safety concerns.
- Residents told the Board of Supervisors that Magsig refused to drink water they brought him at a community meeting last month.
What This Means for You
Supervisor Magsig represents the area that includes Shaver Springs. How an elected official responds when families say their water isn’t safe — whether they take the complaint seriously from the start, or dispute it publicly before testing confirms the problem — is a judgment call voters can consider.
What to Watch
Uranium contamination was confirmed after weeks of residents asking for help, a public meeting where an elected official was accused of refusing to drink the water, and that official posting a video to prove he would drink it. A family shouldn’t have to convince their supervisor their water is unsafe — testing should happen the first time the complaint is made, not after the dispute goes public.
