California's Pinnacles National Park Faces A Nasty Concern Amid The Government Shutdown

While California's largest state park may be a hiker's dream with gorgeous flowers and desert views, its smallest national park is having a massive issue right now. Amid the recent government shutdown, which is already straining the National Park Service (NPS), Pinnacles National Park is facing a serious issue that is affecting its drinking water. Maintenance workers who clean the spigots, which are essentially faucets from which water flows, may have been furloughed due to the government shutdown. They typically visit every three days and run the water for up to 40 minutes to ensure it is clean and safe to drink. Due to work halting, the spigot has become dirty, and campers report that the water in them has turned brown and gained a less-than-inviting smell.

The obvious concern of clean drinking water while camping or hiking is valid, since hydration is a necessity when heading outdoors, and it is understandably alarming when the water is brown and smells foul. When asked about the polluted water, NPS spokesperson Elizabeth Peace asserts that the agency is unaware of the situation at Pinnacles National Park and that "Water operators are running at full capacity and we have not received complaints from visitors about the water," via SFGate.

National Park visitors may need to do some extra planning during the government shutdown and brush up on a few outdoor skills. If you come across contaminated water, don't drink it! A camp host taught Andrew Snow, an outdoor education course director who was preparing for a weeklong hiking and camping program with 50 middle-school-aged children, how to clean the dirty water he had encountered. The camp host told Snow to "rig something up and leave the spigot open for about an hour," according to SFGate.

That said, if you cannot hack the spigots, speak to an NPS employee onsite before ingesting anything. If you are concerned about the availability of staff during a shutdown, we recommend packing drinking water; those on a days-long camping or hiking trip can opt for a portable water purification system. Government shutdowns negatively impact national park visitors and allow illegal activity and unsafe conditions to run rampant at some sites. As alarming as it is to witness non-potable water flowing from spigots, there is also the issue of plant litter, trash build-up, and unclean restrooms to contend with. It is critical to plan for these situations as well.