Ventura lifts water order in time for Thanksgiving

VENTURA, Calif. Residents and businesses in the Pierpont area by the beach in Ventura can use their water again for drinking, cleaning and cooking.

Ventura's Water Distribution Supervisor Ivan Canne said tests came back clean on Wednesday.

It appears detection of gasoline in the Ventura water supply on Tuesday was a false positive.

Residents including Pat Patterson are relieved. Patterson and his wife have holiday guests coming for Turkey Day.

They almost canceled their plans, but have had to watch crews work all day and night inches from their home on the corner of Pierpont and Monmouth.

"False positive, it was a big mistake by somebody, there never was gasoline in the water, but I got a shower today," said Patterson.

Cat Patterson shared video the crews working after dark.

She said the they were told crews would be working on the street through Saturday.

A flyers handed out to residents said the portion of the system that indicated contamination has been removed from service.

It also calls the gasoline: petroleum hydrocarbons.

"Now they are trying to button up all the mess that they made unnecessarily," said Pat Patterson.

He said crews are helping the nearby Marriott get water.

The hotel had bathroom trucks parked outside all day.

Before the false positive was reported the city of Ventura delivered water and set up hand washing stations around the beach community between San Pedro and Peninsula.

Work still needs to be done to repair damage that has caused the Westbound closure of Monmouth Drive.

In September of 2024 a gasoline spill impacted the sewer line and storm drain.

An area between the Sinclair and Shell gas stations is still fenced off.

For more information visit https://www.cityofventura.ca.org