Cal Water works on improving water quality in Visalia

VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- The California Water Service, oregon Cal Water, installs attraction instrumentality astatine 2 Visalia wells.

This is an effort to conscionable the state's caller h2o prime modular for synthetic chemicals resistant to heat, oil, h2o and grease.

The requirements are inactive years away, but for the past 2 years, Cal Water has been moving connected a multi-million dollar task to assistance amended the prime of h2o successful Visalia.

There are 2 attraction tanks astatine each location, 1 connected Hillside and Akers Street and different connected Packwood and Country Center Drive.

Each volition service arsenic a installation to assistance filter groundwater, removing PFAS contamination.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says technological studies person shown that vulnerability to immoderate PFAS successful the situation whitethorn beryllium linked to harmful wellness effects successful humans and animals.

"As acold arsenic regulations go, we are inactive successful compliance until 2029, but we consciousness it's important we get up of this compound, and that's wherefore we are installing attraction early," says Stephen Johnson, the section District Manager for Cal Water.

He says the national regulations volition spell into effect successful 2029, 5 years from now.

The task is expected to beryllium completed by April oregon May of 2025, and it has taken dozens of employees to marque it happen.

"It's truthful important to the assemblage due to the fact that what could beryllium much important than h2o quality? Water prime is the word we usage to speech astir h2o that is harmless and bully for radical to consume, and it's our apical precedence that we person to guarantee nationalist wellness and safety," explains Kevin McCusker with Cal Water.

The attraction installation successful South Visalia is an ion speech system.

Kevin explains that the 1 connected Akers volition beryllium a small different: "At this site, determination is granulated activated carbon. Just similar those pitchers radical usage astatine home, but for a precise large scale. The h2o goes done the system, and immoderate of the substances adhere to the carbon, and the h2o comes retired done the different broadside with the substances removed."

Like galore Cal Water employees, for Kevin, this cleanable h2o task besides hits adjacent to home, "I unrecorded successful Visalia with my woman and 3 young children we portion the h2o close retired of the faucet we don't portion h2o bottled due to the fact that we cognize present successful Visalia we are fortunate to beryllium getting h2o that is highly precocious prime that meets each national and authorities standards for little than a penny a gallon and we are fortunate to beryllium and that situation."

Each task is expected to outgo $1.6 million, and unit accidental completing it earlier was much cost-effective than waiting a fewer years.

To larn much astir Cal Water projects, you tin sojourn here.