Dozens of Mountain View homes have gone nearly a week without safe drinking water after a construction mishap contaminated a city water main, forcing families to cook, clean and care for children using bottled water. … [T]he contamination incident … began last Friday when a slurry mix came into contact with a water main that was undergoing repair and upgrade work, causing tests to come back positive for coliform bacteria. City officials have not said whether the contamination was caused by contractor error or whether proper safety protocols were followed. While limited in scope, the outage has highlighted how a single infrastructure failure can leave residents without one of the most basic necessities: safe drinking water.

Related articles:

• San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area neighborhood enters seventh day without safe drinking water
• NBC Bay Area (San Jose, Calif.): Mountain View neighborhood approaches 1 week without drinking water