Livingston to hold community workshop on water system

The city will host a community workshop to update residents on its water system, one of the requirements of a lawsuit the city settled with an environmental nonprofit last year.

California River Watch sued Livingston in May after its drinking water consistently exceeded the maximum contaminant level for arsenic. The city settled the lawsuit for $38,500 and agreed to hold a community workshop at least once a year.

The statewide organization said the city has violated the Federal Safe Water Drinking Act on a repeated and ongoing basis. The city’s arsenic levels exceeded the state’s maximum contaminant level of 0.010 parts per million numerous times in 2009, 2012 and 2013, according to court documents.

Interim City Manager Odi Ortiz said officials will use the workshop to educate residents on steps the city has taken to improve water quality, including installing a $2.3 million filtration system on a well plagued by TCP contamination.

The public also will receive an update on future water-related projects, such as plans to connect another well to the one with the new filtration system, allowing both wells to benefit from the treatment equipment. Ortiz said that project will cost $675,000, but will save the city money in the long run.

Residents also can expect to hear about a new well the city is installing near Peach Avenue and Emerald Drive. Ortiz said the new well, funded by a $1.4 million Community Development Block Grant, should be operational by October.

“The well was never completed. We basically had a hole there and needed to go after funding to finish it up,” Ortiz said. “So we will tell the public about the projects we’ve completed over the last year and outline some of the projects staff has approved for the next five years or so.”

As required by the legal settlement, the city’s staff also will educate the public on federal and state drinking-water requirements.

The city has struggled with water-quality issues for years. Proposed water rate hikes in 2010 were the cause of a recall election that ousted the mayor and a councilwoman. The city manager was terminated a short time later.

Despite the reluctance to raise rates nearly five years ago, the new City Council approved doubling the utility rates last June. City officials said the hikes are necessary to offset negative balances in the city’s enterprise funds, and pay off bonds and debt.

The community workshop will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the City Council chambers, 1416 C Street in Livingston.

This story was originally published March 26, 2015 at 8:42 PM with the headline "Livingston to hold community workshop on water system."