California lawmaker wants to clean nitrates, arsenic out of rural towns’ water | Opinion
Outside of major cities like Fresno and Clovis, drinking-water quality for San Joaquin Valley residents can be dicey.
The Valley is full of examples of rural water systems failing to either produce enough supply or deliver fresh water that is not tainted by contaminants, be they manufactured, like farming chemicals, or naturally occurring elements in local soils like arsenic.
The Bee has reported on such water problems for years, at places like Lanare and East Orosi.
Now, Rep. David Valadao, a Republican from Hanford, is teaming up with Rep. Norma Torres, a Democratic legislator from Southern California, on a new bill that would amend the federal Safe Drinking Water Act by adding a special focus on nitrate and arsenic pollution in groundwater. The amendment would authorize the federal government to allocate $15 million a year in grants to clean up failing water systems in rural communities.
“Access to clean drinking water is essential for the health and well-being of every American — especially in rural and underserved communities like the Central Valley,” Valadao said in a statement. “This bipartisan bill gives rural communities that rely on groundwater the resources they need to reduce harmful contaminants and ensure our water supply is safe.”
Torres notes that groundwater contamination is also a problem in her Inland Empire region. “The Inland Empire, particularly former agricultural areas, faces some of the worst contamination levels in the state, and we cannot wait any longer to ensure we make clean drinking water accessible for everyone,” she said in a statement.
Arsenic clouded town’s water
Lanare is a community of about 600 people west of Riverdale in south Fresno County. For more than a decade, the town’s residents were delivered water that contained arsenic. When consumed in drinking water, the naturally occurring substance can cause bladder and skin cancer over time.
The community’s water problem got fixed in 2019 when a $3.8 million state grant paid for two new wells.
Nitrates are the problem facing East Orosi, a town of about 700 people in eastern Tulare County. Like Lanare, East Orosi’s contamination problem lingered for more than a decade. Residents could not drink the water out of the taps because of high levels of nitrates, a result of farm fertilizers. When a person drinks water with nitrates, the substance makes it harder for red blood cells to carry oxygen, which is particularly dangerous for infants.
It took a state Water Board order for the Orosi Public Utilities District to merge with East Orosi for residents there to have the hope of clean drinking water.
Rural water should be pure
Given that Valadao and Torres have teamed up to make their bill a bipartisan one, it would seem likely that it could win backing for passage in the House.
Rep. Jim Costa, a Democrat from Fresno, should support the measure. So should Republican Vince Fong of Bakersfield, whose district includes Clovis.
Tap water that is safe for drinking and bathing is a basic right of all Americans. The Nitrate and Arsenic in Drinking Water Act is a key step toward making that real for rural residents in the San Joaquin Valley.
This story was originally published April 24, 2025 at 6:00 AM with the headline "California lawmaker wants to clean nitrates, arsenic out of rural towns’ water | Opinion."