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-Editorial
Addressing the concerns by many residents of the water quality in Calexico, the Calexico City Council took action at their Sept. 2nd meeting to purchase a system that will help improve their standards.
The council approved the purchase of a PAX TRS Aeration System for the Eastside Water Reservoir from Utility Service Co., Inc. in the amount of $212,588.00. The vote was unanimous by the council.
The Water Treatment Plant routinely monitor for the presence of drinking water contaminant. Since the summer of 2019, testing results show that the water system exceeds the standard or maximum contaminant level. To address this issue, the city sent a letter to residents advising them that the Calexico Water Treatment Plant’s water system recently exceeded drinking standards and that the public was not at immediate risk.
Councilman Lewis Pacheco said that there have been comments on social media saying that is a danger for people to drink tap water and need to boil it first which is not true, he said.
“This is what irritates me is that people get a notice and they throw it out there to excite the citizens and is not true,” Councilman Pacheco said. Calexico City Manager Miguel Figueroa said that was not case in the city but said they will be working to disseminate information in a different way so it can be clear and avoid misunderstandings.
Figueroa added that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and State Water Resources Control Board Division of Drinking Water have established public notification rules and tiers under which specific violations are assigned. This violation is a Tier 2 violation of the drinking water regulations. Tier 2 violations are considered less urgent than Tier 1 violations because there is little immediate risk to consumers. Tier 2 violations require a public notification delivered to customers after a violation is discovered.
Figueroa said that staff has been working closely with the California State Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water to find feasible ways to implement several treatment options in order to meet standards.
“We have been working with the State Water Board to make sure that not only this component of the overall plan but also the water and wastewater improvement projects that we will bring you to your attention as part of our capital improvement plan,” Figueroa said.
One feasible way of removing the contamination from the Eastside Water Reservoir in to install PAX TRS aeration system which is a custom-designed, energy-optimized in-tank aeration system designed to remove the anomalies. The system will be purchased from Utility Service Co., Inc. and it will be installed in two phases.
