Arvin (Interim Solutions) POU program

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The California State Water Resource Control Board (SWRCB) awarded funds to RCAC to procure, install and monitor point-of-use (POU) arsenic filtration systems throughout the city of Arvin. The POU filters will remove arsenic from the drinking water using carbon block media adsorption technology. The filtered water will then meet safe drinking water standards.

Read this bilingual fact sheet to learn more about the filters and other community water projects. The filtration systems will be located in Arvin where RCAC is installing water bottle filling stations as a part of the Agua4All program as well as additional water access points throughout the Arvin Union School District. A site map is available here. The first filtration systems were installed in May and installation will continue throughout the summer. A rigorous monitoring program to ensure the filters produce safe water is in place. To date, RCAC and our partners completed installation of 177 POU filters in six schools in three separate school districts including Arvin Union School District, Kern High School District-Arvin High and Grimmway Academy. We have recently supplied more than 629,147 gallons of arsenic free drinking water to students and community members in Arvin.

Follow the links below to view the filter installation sites for the schools:

• Grimmway Academy
• Arvin High School
• Bear Mountain
• El Camino Real
• Sierra Vista
• Haven Drive

This POU pilot program is the first of its kind. Once the pilot is complete RCAC and SWRCB will use the experience to administer similar programs in the future throughout the state. The POU program is part of a larger interim solutions effort going on in Arvin to bring residents safe drinking water now. In addition to the POUs, there will be three safe water vending machines built outside of the Arvin Community Services District (CSD) offices where residents can fill up large water jugs for home use. These interim solutions will provide residents the human right to water while the CSD continues to work toward a long term solution.

The Arvin CSD and RCAC are sampling all school sites on a monthly basis.

Sample quality report: 9th Quarter Water Quality Summary Report

More general information on arsenic is available for download here in English and Spanish.

In the news:

• Bakersfield Californian As Flint’s water goes, so goes California’s (op-ed)
• Bakersfield Now Groups plan rally for better water in Arvin
• KABE Univision Filtros y estaciones de agua instaladas en el Condado de Kern como parte de la primera fase Agua4all.
• KERO ABC Arvin community celebrates steps toward purified drinking water
• KGET NBC Arvin – Agua4All and point-of-use filters
• KVPR “It looked really dirty” – Now, Arvin kids drink clean water in schools
• South Kern Sol South Kern community celebrates safe water at #Agua4All rally

Questions

For Arvin, please contact Jerry Tinoco at jtinoco@rcac.org or (661) 390-4059.