July 10, 2023 – Water is a resource heavily relied upon by all communities for a multitude of reasons.
The water we drink, use to bathe, water our gardens, even to wash our dishes all has to be regulated.
The City of Clovis Water Division has submitted its annual water quality report available to the public online and by mail to be received by Clovis residents.
The report covers the results of testing done on the quality of tap water from the past year of 2022. The importance of this is to keep the public aware of what contaminants may be hidden in your water and to assure residents that it is safe.
According to the City of Clovis Water Division, 59% of the city’s water distribution system is served by groundwater wells and 41% is served by surface water from way of the city’s water treatment plant.
The City of Clovis Surface Water Treatment Plant began development back in 2004. Clovis’ main source for water is from the Kings River, as well as 37 groundwater wells.
These wells and the treatment plant provide much needed removal of substances that could pose possible health risks if ingested.
They both contribute to a microfiltration process that can remove up to 99.99 percent of most microbial contaminants such as viruses or bacteria.
Unfortunately not all contaminants can be filtered out.
So how is our water receiving so many harmful contaminants? Answer is many different ways.
Before water travels through our pipes, it has to pass through several different environments that can expose it to toxic substances.
Sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife could all be surrounding factors to water contamination.
Naturally occurring inorganic contaminants such as salts and metals can come from urban stormwater runoff.
These impurities can also come from industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, and mining or farming. Pesticides, herbicides, organic chemicals and radioactive contaminants make up the rest of what could be floating through your drinking water.
Contaminants and substances that were measured in the study include lead, chlorine, arsenic, aluminum, nitrate, fluoride, copper, chloride, iron, manganese, ect. Often what is used for regulating contaminants found are other chemicals used for disinfection.
Disinfectants are necessary for aiding in the process of filtering out and eliminating these potentially harmful substances that seep into our water supply.
Even though these disinfectants are necessary, they do pose their own danger in higher amounts like the contaminants. Therefore it is why water testing and regulating is so crucial.
According to a chart provided in the report, the highest average detected substances in the water from 2022 was shown to be DBCP and TCP.
Dibromochloropropane (DBCP) is a now banned chemical pesticide that still shows up in water commonly from leaching of soils into water runoff.
Trichloropropane is a similar substance that is often found in groundwater and used as a cleaning solvent.
Paul Armendariz, Assistant Public Utilities Director for the city of Clovis said the amount that was found of these contaminants and disinfectants in the report, did not reach the maximum contaminant level, which deems the water quality safe for the community.
Armendariz said he feels it is important for the city to remain aware of what is in their water supply.
“It is a good reminder of where our water comes from,” said Armendariz.
“I live in the city as well and so this is something I look forward to receiving. It is a good reminder of where we’re getting our water from and what the city is doing as far as sampling and making sure we’re meeting state and federal requirements for our residents who are drinking this potable water.”
If you would like to get more information about local water supply you can reach the U.S. EPA’s (Environmental Protection Agency) Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800)426-4791.
You can also go online at:
http://water.epa.gov/drink/hotline
If you have any concerns about water quality, you can reach Clovis Public Utilities at (559)324-2600 or go to cityofclovis.com.