Efforts to Eliminate TCP in Selma Drinking Water

Cal Water has completed work on a water infrastructure improvement project, upgrading and improving water quality and water supply reliability for its Selma District customers.

The district recently completed construction to install TCP treatment on an offline well to meet the state’s water quality standard at its station on South Leonard Avenue. The installation allows Cal Water to bring Selma’s third-largest producing well back online for customer use during the peak demands of summer.

“Infrastructure improvements like this ensure that Cal Water maintains a safe, clean, and reliable water supply for both everyday and emergency needs,” said Stuart Skoglund, Cal Water’s Selma Operations Manager.

The Selma District also has TCP treatment at two other sites, which enables the water to comply with the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for TCP of 5 parts per trillion (ppt) set by the State Water Resources Control Board.

“Treating five parts per trillion is essentially like removing a few drops of water from an Olympic-sized swimming pool; it is a very complex process to remove these trace amounts,” Skoglund said. “But, our commitment is to provide a reliable supply of high-quality water to our customers and we intend to keep fulfilling that commitment.”

TCP, a manmade organic chemical used mostly as a soil fumigant until the 1980s, seeped into some groundwater supplies, including those in Cal Water’s Selma service area. No longer used in soil fumigants today, the constituent has been found to cause potential health risks when consumed in high volumes.