Tensions high at Mabton Council meetings over water distribution and utility bills

After more than a month of flip-flopping on how and when to distribute more than 50,000 cans of water to Mabton residents, the Mabton City Council announced this week the donated water would be handed over to a Sunnyside-based nonprofit for distribution.

The water, which is in aluminum cans like pop or beer, was donated to the city and delivered in late December. At first, Mabton’s mayor, Rachel Ruelas, said the city would work with community partners to distribute it to residents' homes.

Later, during a Jan. 9 city council meeting, Ruelas said the water would instead be kept at city hall and made available for pickup. Two weeks after that, during a Jan. 23 city council meeting, Ruelas said the city would not distribute the water until the summer.

For years, Mabton residents hooked up to the city’s municipal water system have dealt with foul-smelling water. State officials believe the smell, which is most prominent during the summer, comes from a well that contains hydrogen sulfide. Hydrogen sulfide is not a health risk, according to officials.

The concerns have prompted many people to switch to bottled water for drinking and cooking.

The water was donated by Can’d Aid, a Colorado-based nonprofit, after a state Department of Commerce employee reached out.

The donated water will now be distributed by ELLA, an organization focused on Latino issues in Yakima County that has been distributing water in Mabton since last year.

Maria Fernandez, executive director of ELLA, said she was surprised by the city’s decision to give her organization control of the water.

Three weeks prior, during a time of heavy snowfall, ELLA and the Mabton Food Bank organized a water distribution using the canned water. The day of the distribution, Fernandez said the city did not give volunteers access to the water, which was stored on city property. The groups distributed water they purchased from Costco instead.

On Jan. 23, during the next city council meeting, Ruelas said all available city employees on the day of the distribution were busy plowing roads and could not give volunteers access to the water. 

Tensions boiled over during the meeting when Fernandez and Ruelas discussed the situation.

Though the meeting was not livestreamed and has yet to be made available online by the city, a video captured by a Mabton resident and posted online shows Ruelas raising her voice at Fernandez after Fernandez asked her to let another speaker finish what they were saying.

“You need to just quiet down Maria,” Ruelas said. “You don’t tell me what to do."

"And you don't tell us what to do, Rachel," Fernandez responded.

"You’re nobody," Ruelas replied.

Meter readings

During public comment at a council meeting Tuesday, Joe Schons raised concerns about water meter readings in the city. He is a Yakima resident and former Mabton water and wastewater operator.

Schons said he found multiple irregularities in the city’s water meter readings for 2023 after reviewing city documents he received through a public records request.

Late last year, a picture of a $17,000 city of Mabton utility bill made its rounds around the community. Though the bill was shared anonymously, the account number on the bill matches information in the documents Schons received.

When Schons asked the city council about the bill, Ruelas responded by saying the city had already looked into the situation.

Ruelas declined to comment further on the matter.