Clean tap water an ongoing issue for the San Lucas community

SAN LUCAS, Calif. (KION-TV) -- Within the small town of San Lucas, clean drinking water has become something not readily available to residents.

That water source comes from King City, supplying residents for the week every Tuesday and Thursday.

“Right now, they're giving us five gallons. Every week per family, you know, so we could drink. So we can have water, drinking water and cooking water," San Lucas resident Fray Martin Zuniga said.

While tap water is still present, that has been deemed unsafe to drink since 2016 following a “Do Not Drink” order.

The tap water itself comes out cloudy and grey, as seen in this example here in this bowl.

Residents still can use the water to wash clothes, feed their gardens and bathe, but even that has its disadvantages.

“I can only speak for myself personally, but I am always itching, I always have to buy creams at the pharmacy that help with the itching," San Lucas resident Maria Velasquez said.

The county of Monterey is looking to mend the battle for clean drinking water by proposing a plan for the creation of a new pipeline between the city and King City’s water system.

The plan dubbed “Alternative 1” would help provide clean water at a long-term low cost and being overseen by the state water resources control board.

And while some are hopeful for the project.

“We are waiting to see that it's real, that it’s not just a dream," Velasquez said.

Others are not so much.

“I'm hoping that they come up with a better - a better solution, because then we're going to be a burden on them and then they start running out of water, you know," Zuniga said.

I also reached out to Monterey county district 3 supervisor Chris Lopez for comment on the proposal, but he was not available at this time.