SHAVER SPRINGS, Calif. – In the tiny community of Shaver Springs in the Fresno County foothills, residents say the water is so brown it leaves stains in their bathtubs, tiles and clothing.
They say it’s been like this for years. But they've only now gotten attention outside of their community.
At multiple public meetings in the last month, residents and other advocates have shown up with their concerns, telling county leaders they need to address the community’s water system as well as high water bills.
In late August, community residents gathered at a town hall meeting at Pine Ridge Elementary School organized by Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig, who represents the community on the board.
At the time, Magsig assured residents that state data showed the water is safe to drink. But that only frustrated residents who say they’ve endured these water issues for years.
“All I’ve heard is…how you wasted money towards the community that you’re actually trying to serve,” Shaver Springs resident Graham Brown said to Magsig at the town hall meeting.
Since then, however, Magsig said he has learned more of the specifics of what the water in Shaver Springs contains, like elevated concentrations of uranium and other contaminants in one of its main wells.
Some of that information was also sent out to residents at the end of August, days after Magsig held a community meeting on the issue.
“They have issues of both quality and quantity of water,” Magsig told KVPR. “The county is working to look at any and all options that could be beneficial to residents when it comes to filtration systems, too.”
At a Fresno County Board of Supervisors meeting in late September, Magsig presented the audience with videos of the water system being flushed until the water ran clear — though multiple residents told KVPR the water in their homes is still discolored.
The State Water Resources Control Board lists Shaver Spring’s water quality as “failing” in its drinking water database known as SAFER.
But the water board has stopped short of stating Shaver Springs’ water is undrinkable.
A statement from the agency said that, while there is no risk to ingesting the water, “alternative drinking water supplies should be used due to the increasing levels of uranium and gross alpha in Well 7.” Gross alpha particles are radioactive particles that emit energy released by naturally occurring, decaying elements like uranium.
The statement also warned that infants and small children should not drink the water at all due to elevated levels of manganese.
Meanwhile, the water district in charge of supplying the community’s drinking water is looking into other water sources and possible filtration systems.
“The nature of some of those [wells] up there is that the contaminants in the groundwater still find their way into those wells as well, and that's where we're continuing to try to find different solutions,” said Chris Bump, special districts manager at the county’s Department of Public Works and Planning, which manages the community’s water.
High water bills also a concern
Shaver Springs is a community of roughly 200 residents located between Tollhouse and Shaver Lake in the Fresno County foothills. It receives its water from Water Works District 40 (WWD 40), a special water district owned and operated by the County of Fresno.
The community has faced water quality problems for decades. According to state records, violations date back to at least 2006.
Currently, Shaver Springs violates maximum contaminant guidelines for four contaminants: manganese, iron, uranium, and gross alpha particles.
For a number of years, the water also contained elevated levels of arsenic, though that violation was resolved in 2013.
But residents say the issue goes beyond whether they can technically drink the water. They also question why they’re paying increasingly high rates for a system that has continued to struggle to meet state drinking water requirements.
In 2025, the average monthly bill for water and sewer service in the community nearly quadrupled from $75 to $291, according to data from WWD 40.
The majority of the cost goes toward a monthly base charge of $196.53 for both water and sewer services before even factoring in water usage.
The city of Fresno’s average base water and sewer rate, for comparison, is roughly $45 a month, according to some estimates, and the average total bill is $70 including water usage.
“The rates just do not make any sense to me here,” said Shaver Springs resident Darrell Taber. “We are paying $200 a month before you even turn on a faucet, before you even run anything.”
As for why water rates are increasing, county representatives told KVPR the water district is paying off a budget deficit. A rate study by WWD 40 states the district had accrued more than $140,000 in debt to the county as of 2024, before the latest rate hikes took effect.
“WWD 40’s operating, maintenance, and improvement costs are paid from District revenues, primarily customer rates and charges. This means that the cost of providing water and sewer service is paid by the customers who receive those services,” reads a Frequently Asked Questions document on the WWD40 website.
The water district, with funds from the state, has contracted a feasibility study from an outside engineering company to evaluate long-term fixes.
“That's what's being done to look at, basically, feasibility of options as we move forward, whether that be acquiring new wells, locating new wells, or looking at treatment options as well,” said Bump, the special districts manager at the county’s Department of Public Works and Planning.
The engineering evaluation is expected to be completed by November 2026.
In a statement, the state water board says state agencies have awarded nearly $400,000 in technical assistance to the community, which supported a feasibility study and is helping to cover costs for sampling and monitoring among other things. A spokesperson said that funding could potentially reduce residential water bills by up to $38 a month per household.
Residents seek other remedies
While these water and rate issues continue, many residents have turned to drinking bottled water. A social media post by Clovis Mayor Vong Mouanoutoua shows himself and others delivering pallets containing 1,200 cases of water bottles to the community in early September.
But residents say bottled water isn’t good enough. Many told KVPR they want the water quality to be investigated, lower water rates, and a financial audit into the water district.
“Residents have immediately raised documented concerns involving water quality violations, contamination, aging infrastructure, sampling practices, storage tanks and the condition of this system,” Jennifer Taber, a Shaver Springs resident, told supervisors at the Sept. 8 supervisors’ meeting.
The issue has also opened the door to political digs against Magsig, the county supervisor. Will Brown, a social worker and Visalia resident, is challenging Magsig for California’s 12th Senate District, which includes Shaver Springs – while also advocating for Shaver Springs residents.
He said that when he reached out to federal agencies about the water issues, he heard back right away.
“The USDA has responded the same day, saying they're willing to work with us,” Brown said during public comment at the Sept. 8 meeting.
Brown said the USDA representative told him the agency had no record of previous inquiries from Fresno County or the water district regarding the issues in Shaver Springs.
Bump, at the county, explained why.
“Although there's not funding applications already for construction, it's because we're working with the state closely already to figure out what the best alternative is as we move through the funding process,” Bump told KVPR.
Still, residents say they are considering potential legal action against the county if they don’t see solutions soon.
“Do not wait for a courtroom to determine what should have been done here,” Taber told supervisors.
