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KIRO 7 confronts water company behind brown Spanaway water

By Henry Rosoff
By Henry Rosoff

It has been more than a year since KIRO 7 first investigated brown water pouring into homes in a Spanaway neighborhood.  Wednesday, KIRO 7 and neighbors confronted the Rainier View Water Company, which said things would be better by now.

People in the Springwood neighborhood showed KIRO 7 how the brown water is still flowing.  David Ayuso drained brown water right out of his hot water heater, which was cleaned just hours earlier.

“The water is brown, the wrong color,” he said, holding up a container.  “This is not clean water.”

When KIRO 7 first highlighted the brown water in October of 2015, a spokesman for Rainier View Water Company said a new filtration system would help clear up the mineral-laden well water in about a year.  In November, the company even shut down all the pipes for a major flushing project to try and make things better.

But neighbors said the efforts have been unsuccessful.

“Rainier Water didn’t keep their end of the bargain, and here we are with brown water,” Springwood resident Sarah Hand said.

Two weeks ago, sediment in the water broke a valve in Hand’s home, causing $634.00 in damage. Currently, the money is coming right out of the Christmas budget.

“We had to tell our kids to cut that wish list back, and I feel horrible,” Hand said.

Wednesday, KIRO 7 was there as Hand, who brought her bill, and Ayuso, who brought a container of the brown water, walked into the Rainier View office.

A spokesman for the company immediately asked KIRO 7 to leave and refused to answer any questions about broken promises to fix the water.  Neighbors were allowed to stay and talk for 10 minutes, but were told there is no fix coming in the near future.  Rainier View will not pay Hand’s bill.

Many neighbors are talking about suing.  KIRO 7 is reaching out to state and federal regulators.

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