City Council Approves $857,000 Water Treatment Project to Meet New State Drinking Water Standards — Photo: Fiszi37 — CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
City Council Approves $857,000 Water Treatment Project to Meet New State Drinking Water Standards
Fresno City Council voted June 18 to spend $857,000 of taxpayer money on a new filtration system at Pump Station 347, awarding the construction contract to West Valley Construction Company Inc. The project responds to California’s 2022 groundwater regulations, which set a new limit on manganese in drinking water — a naturally occurring element with a maximum contaminant level of 0.05 milligrams per liter.
The contract went to West Valley as the lowest bidder among three companies. The city received bids ranging from $857,000 to $1,253,000, according to the staff report from the Department of Public Utilities. Council approved the spending on its consent calendar, a process that bundles routine items for a single vote without separate discussion.
Manganese occurs naturally in Fresno’s groundwater. The state standard, adopted in 2022, set the maximum contaminant level at 0.05 milligrams per liter. The city identified Pump Station 347 as needing a filtration system to comply.
The project will install manganese filtration equipment, piping, and site improvements at the pump station, which serves Council District 7. The Department of Public Utilities characterized the work as replacement or reconstruction of existing infrastructure, exempting it from full environmental review under state law.
The Breakdown
- California set a new drinking water standard in 2022 limiting manganese to 0.05 mg/L — a maximum contaminant level (the highest amount allowed in drinking water)
- Fresno’s Pump Station 347 needs a new filtration system to meet the standard
- City Council awarded an $857,000 contract to West Valley Construction Company Inc. on June 18, 2026
- Two other companies bid on the work, with prices reaching as high as $1,253,000
- The project includes filtration equipment, piping, and site improvements at the pump station in Council District 7
What This Means for You
Your City Council just committed nearly $900,000 of taxpayer money to meet a state drinking water standard adopted in 2022. The state set a maximum contaminant level for manganese at 0.05 milligrams per liter.
Manganese occurs naturally in Fresno’s groundwater. If you live in Council District 7 near Pump Station 347, this filtration system is being built to treat water from that station.
What to Watch
The staff report does not identify how many residents or households Pump Station 347 serves, what manganese levels the city measured there before the project, or whether any health complaints or violations triggered the work. The report also does not state whether this is the only city pump station that needs manganese filtration, or whether additional projects and contracts will follow at other sites to meet the same 2022 standard.
West Valley Construction Company Inc. won the contract as the lowest bidder, but the staff report does not state the company’s track record with similar projects, whether it has worked for the city before, or how the $396,000 gap between the low and high bids came about.
The project was approved on the consent calendar, a process that bundles routine items for a single vote with no separate discussion. The source does not record whether any council member raised concerns about the contract.
