A company that is offering water quality testing services in Yakima is not licensed to conduct business in Yakima. Door hangers containing a logo with the words “Quality Water Department Water Update” in it have recently been hung at homes throughout the city. Some Yakima community members have contacted the City’s Utilities Services Division asking whether the water quality testing services are required by the City.
“The City of Yakima does not require anyone to test the quality of the water in their homes and the company offering this service is not even properly licensed to do so in Yakima,” said Communications & Public Affairs Director Randy Beehler. “Anyone who is contacted by a representative of the company offering the water quality testing services is encouraged to contact the City’s Office of Code Administration, not agree to pay for any services, and not provide any personal information to any company representative,” said Beehler.
The City’s Office of Code Administration can be contacted by calling 576-6126, sending an e-mail to codes@yakimawa.gov, or by submitting a report using the City’s Yak Back feature by clicking on the following link – https://www.yakimawa.gov/yak-back/.
The door hangers, which are in both Spanish and English, include a phone number – 877-977-8626. City staff called the number and requested the person who answered the phone have a manager get in touch with the City’s Office of Code Administration immediately. Over several days last week, no one from the company offering the water quality testing service contacted the Office of Code Administration. Several dozen additional calls to the number made by City staff over that same time period went straight to voicemail.
City staff also searched online for any company using the phase “Quality Water Department Water Update” in its advertising or on a website and found none.
Anyone soliciting business door-to-door in Yakima is required to have a valid City of Yakima business license/peddler’s license. Violators can be subject to a $500 fine.
“The company offering the water quality testing services may or may not be legitimate,” said Beehler. “Regardless, it needs to apply for and be granted a business license in order to solicit door-to-door. The company hasn’t done that,” said Beehler. “Therefore, the City discourages any Yakima residents from doing business with the company offering the water quality testing services.”