The City of Ripon is committed to providing safe and reliable
drinking water to the community. The City’s water system is operated through
a permit issued by the State of California Department of Public Health, which
establishes testing and monitoring requirements to ensure our drinking water
meets all drinking water standards.
Drinking water is supplied to the community using five groundwater
supply wells that are located throughout the City. These wells pump water at different times and
rates into the water distribution system, depending on the water demand, where
the water is mixed together. At times, a
wellhead treatment system is needed to treat the water in order to lower the
concentration of certain contaminants in the water that exceed safe drinking
water standards. Currently, the wells
being used to supply drinking water do not require the use of wellhead
treatment, but if at any time the water being produced does not meet
established drinking water standards, either the water supply well will be
turned off or a treatment system installed.
There are areas within the City where groundwater contamination has
been identified and where remediation is ongoing. Most notably, the City is
working in cooperation with Nestlé under the direction of the Regional Water
Quality Control Board (Water Board) to remediate the presence of trichloroethylene
(TCE) and its breakdown products. Nestlé has made and continues to make every
effort to remediate TCE, which was associated decades ago with decaffeinated coffee
production from the time Nestlé operated a plant in Ripon. This is a long-term
cleanup effort where significant resources are being devoted by Nestlé, the
Water Board, and the City to ensure the TCE contamination does not create any
health impacts to the community of Ripon.
TCE and its related compounds have been found to be present in
one City water supply well. Over the
last couple of years, levels have increased to within 90 percent of the maximum
contaminant level that is set by the Environmental Protection Agency for safe
drinking water. The well, which has
supplied on average 4 percent of the City’s annual drinking water over the last
9 years, was turned off in October 2018.
The City is currently performing additional testing to evaluate how best
to move forward with this well, ensuring we continue to provide safe and
reliable drinking water.
We understand the responsibility we have to share information
about the water being provided to our residents and businesses in the most
transparent way possible. Each year the City sends all residents and businesses
a Consumer Confidence Report that provides detailed water supply information,
including a summary of the wells supplying drinking water, water quality
monitoring results, along with answers to commonly asked questions. The most recent Consumer Confidence Report
can be found on the City’s
website at http://cityofripon.org/connect/city_communication/public_notices.
If you have any questions or would like additional information,
please contact the City’s Public Works Director Ted Johnston at (209) 599-2151.