Livingston meeting sheds light on city’s water challenges

From water quality concerns to a lack of groundwater from the record drought, the city’s water challenges were chronicled during a community meeting this week.

The meeting Tuesday also detailed the city’s completion of projects to improve water quality and increase supplies. Officials reminded residents about Livingston’s watering restrictions, just one day before Gov. Jerry Brown ordered the state’s first mandatory water reductions.

The executive order imposes water reductions across California to reduce water usage by 25 percent.

Livingston already has plans to comply with the order. Residents can water their lawns only three days a week, but officials are considering cutting it to two. The city, which relies solely on groundwater, has been struggling to keep up with water demand, especially in the summer months.

“We have barely enough wells to meet the demand,” said Alfonso Manrique, a contract engineer for the city. “There’s an increased demand from new businesses and residential development. We need to make sure we have enough supply.”

Some city wells have dropped 20 feet as officials have dug deeper to extract groundwater for Livingston’s nearly 14,000 residents.

Jean Okuye of the Valley Land Alliance said the city should monitor its own water use, similar to what’s being asked of residents.

“I’d like to see the city show signs of conservation,” Okuye said during the meeting. “The (Court) Theater was torn out and then a lawn was put in. The city should show samples of what they can do.”

City leaders are now in talks with the Merced Irrigation District to bring a new source of water into Livingston – surface water. Former City Manager Jose Ramirez, who attended Tuesday’s meeting, said having another source of water for daily use would allow the city to store its groundwater.

“Groundwater cannot be sustainable unless you have a surface water supply,” Ramirez said. “MID is very interested in supplying the city with surface water during the wet years so the city can save its groundwater.”

The city has eight water wells, but several have been plagued by natural and man-made contaminants. The naturally occurring contaminants are arsenic and manganese; the man-made contaminant is TCP.

The city has taken steps to improve water quality in recent years. Two treatment devices to remove arsenic and TCP were installed, including a $2.3 million filter to treat TCP in December. Officials are now looking at constructing a pipeline to connect the device to another well, allowing both wells to benefit from the filter.

Officials also plan to install sand separators in two other wells. Foster Farms – the city’s largest water user – will pay the installation costs. Plans are underway to construct a new well near Peach Avenue and Emerald Drive.

The community workshop on Tuesday was 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 about water at least once a year.

This story was originally published April 1, 2015 at 8:11 PM with the headline "Livingston meeting sheds light on city’s water challenges."