Full Notification

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.