Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Drinking Water Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
McFarland mayor urges State Water Board to approve emergency funding, restore wastewater project priority
Summary
McFarland officials told the State Water Resources Control Board the city faces an immediate drinking-water crisis that costs about $100,000 per month to treat and urged the board to approve an urgent drinking-water application and reinstate a $17 million wastewater expansion on the board's priority funding list.
McFarland's mayor told the State Water Resources Control Board on March 4 that the city is relying on temporary treatment and emergency wells after two of five wells went out of service and that the cost to run the short-term system is roughly $100,000 per month.
The mayor said the temporary facility was installed in 2024 to remove nitrate levels that exceed the state's acceptable limits and that, without immediate funding, the city may be unable to meet its residents' needs. The mayor asked the board to approve McFarland's urgent drinking-water needs application and to reinstate a $17 million wastewater expansion project to the board's priority funding list.
Why it matters: Board staff have noted in recent years that small, disadvantaged systems across the Central Valley face repeated shortfalls in both operations and capital finance. A city that must run a temporary treatment plant at high monthly cost will have a reduced ability to pay for more permanent solutions or to attract grants, the mayor said.
At the March 4 public forum, the mayor said the temporary treatment system's monthly cost is "nearly a hundred thousand per month" (about $1,200,000 annually by the mayor's estimate) and that the city submitted an urgent needs application to keep the Brownie Road temporary facility running. The mayor also said McFarland was removed from a priority funding list after years of preliminary design work on the wastewater expansion and asked the board to reverse that decision.
City supporters included a legislative staffer who said the area's water quality needs are a Central Valley priority; board members acknowledged receipt of McFarland's application and said staff would follow up.
Background and details: The mayor described the situation as a present emergency rather than a future possibility, noting both treatment and wastewater capacity problems. She said three of five wells are operating and the city is operating a 50-year well in addition to the temporary treatment facility.
Board response and next steps: Chair Joaquin Esquivel and other members thanked the mayor, confirmed staff had the application, and said the board's staff will continue to coordinate with the city on both the urgent needs application and longer-term funding activity. The board does not take final funding decisions in public forum; those matters proceed through staff and program processes.
Ending: McFarland's appeal underscores the continuing financial pressure on small systems in parts of the Central Valley. The board will review the city's urgent needs application and said staff would follow up with the mayor's office about options and next steps for both short- and long-term solutions.
