Where: Soledad, California

Problem: Small school districts lack resources to ensure access to safe drinking water

Solution: Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) provides technical assistance to access Drinking Water for Schools funding

Mission Union Elementary School is a small school in Soledad, California that serves 133 students and staff. The school owns and operates its own well, which began to test positive for elevated nitrate concentrations in October 2017 and continued to intermittently exceed the regulatory threshold for nitrates.

In 2018, RCAC helped Mission Union Elementary School District obtain a $58,731 grant through the State Water Resources Control Board’s Drinking Water for Schools program to implement a short-term solution and $15,000 from the Salinas Basin Agricultural Stewardship Group to provide interim bottled water.

In fall 2022, the school successfully installed 12 point of use (POU) treatment devices and two drinking fountain bottle-filling stations throughout the school. The POUs and drinking fountains are now providing students and staff with access to safe drinking water. Currently, RCAC is working with the school to obtain funding to cover the cost to operate and maintain the POUs for the next three years while its long-term solution is identified and implemented.