Nearly 200 homes without water near Shirley Lane Primary School

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Since June 21, a garden hose and water bottles have served as a water source for residents in a neighborhood near Shirley Lane Elementary School.

Their water wells were closed, leaving them with no other source of water.

“At first the pressure was really low, now none of them are working so we have no water at all,” said East Bakersfield resident Alfredo Canales.

Canales says without water they can't perform the basic functions of the house. “Cooking, washing dishes, going to the bathroom, watering the plants, turning off the water for the animals. »

John Martinez Jr. is the school's custodian and said he has been helping the community since Friday. “My supervisor called me and said, 'Hey, we have an emergency at the school, the community has no water, something happened to their well, do you want to come and help,' I said “Okay”. »

The water was cut off on Friday after the well that supplied water to the region broke.

The other two wells in the area, according to residents, have been out of service since last year.

Their last source of water having run out, they have no choice but to rely on help from the school.

Residents first came to collect boxes of water. But there weren't any left, so now they fill the buckets with the school's garden hose.

“I feel quite bad for them because I know a lot of them have young children… there's a gentleman, he came with his young daughter, he was explaining: 'How can I give her a shower? '” Martinez said.

“It makes me pretty sad for the community, especially because these are our kids who come to our school.”

A knock on the door of the chairman of the board of directors that operates the wells brought no response.

But according to residents, he told them, there would be no water until Wednesday.