City of Clovis Release Annual Water Quality Report

The City of Clovis conducts an annual water quality report to ensure the water is safe for residents to drink. (Courtesy of IciakPhotos/Envato Elements)

Every year the City of Clovis public utilities department conducts an annual water quality report to ensure that the water in our community is safe to consume.

The Annual Water Quality Report that was released this year was conducted between January 1 and December 31 2020.

“There is a variety of sampling that is required,” said Paul Armendariz who is the assistant public utilities director for the City of Clovis.

The different types of sampling occur over different amounts of time, whether it be weekly, monthly, or quarterly.

“Things are always evolving, as far as what’s in the water,” said Armendariz, who has been working for the City of Clovis for 17 years.

This is why water quality reports, sampling, assessments, and several other tests are carried out so periodically and repetitively.

“We take a lot of pride in the water we are serving,” said Armendariz, “we’ve done a good job historically and hope to continue to do so.”

One specific result that was found from some sampling tests is the exposure of lead in home plumbing.

According to the writers of the Annual Water Quality Report, “we [City of Clovis Water Division] are responsible for providing high-quality drinking water, but we cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing components.”

In order to avoid ingesting lead through an at home water source, it is recommended to flush your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using.

If you have a concern about this you can ask for a water test either by phone call to the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791 or online at www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.

The assessments of sampling from years prior, 2006, 2009, and 2015, has shown that the water supply in the City of Clovis is vulnerable to pesticides, fertilizers, and contaminant plumes, which are hazardous pollutant contaminants that find their way into an aquifer system.

There are also vulnerabilities to the quality of water that were found subsequently from human waste and activities such as automobiles, as in gas stations and repair shops, metal plating as a result of technology, waste dumps and landfills, sewer systems, dry cleaners, junkyards, plastic(s), bus terminals, and underground tanks.

Fresno County gets their water from 36 underground wells and the Kings River that is filtered through the Enterprise Canal.

“There are two main portable sources of drinking water,” said Armendariz, “groundwater and surface water.”

The groundwater includes aquifers and municipal wells while the surface water is from the Enterprise Canal and the Kings River which runs through the city’s surface water treatment plant.

“We want to make sure we’re serving water to our customers that is good quality and that meets federal standards,” said Armendariz.

The Annual Water Quality Report touches base on why it is important to know what could be in your drinking water.

According to the report, the amount of contaminants in tap water is regulated by both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board).

If you are interested in attending the Clovis City Council meetings they are open to the general public every first, second, and third Monday of the month at 6 p.m. on 1033 Fifth Street at the Clovis City Council Chamber.

“If they [the people of Clovis] want their voices heard, our council members represent our residents,” said Armendariz when asked why it’s beneficial to attend the meetings.

They are available in person and virtually as a way to know what is happening in the Clovis Community.

One example of an event that is occurring in our city that not many people know about is that the Public Utilities Department is giving up to $75 in rebates to people in Clovis who can prove they have exchanged their old toilet or washing machine for one that is more eco friendly and more efficient; one that uses less water.

This is only one conservation program among many that the Public Utilities Dept. offer for people who are interested in bettering the community they live in.

If you have any questions about programs like this you can call the Public Utilities Dept. at (559) 324-2600.

“The main goal for our city is protecting our citizens and customers,” said Armendariz, “and we will continue doing our part.”

Sydney Morgan, currently a junior at Fresno State University, grew up in the sleepy town of Templeton, CA. With Lester Holt and Carrie Bradshaw as her journalist role models, she considers herself to have a more creative approach to her news and entertainment stories.