<div>The Porterville City Council on Tuesday night agreed to participate in a state-funded feasibility study that will explore long-term drinking water solutions for roughly 280 homes currently relying on private wells north and south of the city.The Community Water Center, working with the State Water Board’s Division of Drinking Water, asked the city to sign a nonbinding letter of interest to allow the study to move forward. The 12- to 18-month analysis, paid for entirely by the State Water Resources Control Board, will examine whether consolidating those homes into the city’s water system is technically and financially feasible.Acting Public Works Director Robert Alvarez told the council the affected wells sit within a half-mile of Porterville’s water system and inside the urban development boundary. About 196 homes are located north of Castle Drive, between the Friant-Kern Canal and Highway 65, extending to Orange Belt Drive at Avenue 181. Another 87 homes lie south of the city along Indiana Street and Teapot Dome Avenue near the Hope School Project alignment. Many of these households face water-quality problems, including contamination, or struggle with declining groundwater supply.Alvarez emphasized participating in the study doesn't commit the city to any project, but gives Porterville the chance to gather data and retain full control over future decisions.Councilman Raymond Beltran supported advancing the study but raised concerns about what he called a major oversight by the state, and its failure to address wastewater issues in the same communities facing drinking-water contamination.“It's really interesting that they're acknowledging there's a problem with contaminants for the drinking water for those communities, and they want the city to somehow see if we're able to supply them with drinking water, but nowhere in that statement or report or what their ask is, is dealing with the wastewater from these areas, and it's like they're not fixing the problem,” said Beltran.Councilman Stan Green questioned how far Porterville should extend itself, warning once the city begins supplying water to fringe communities, pressure could build to continue building outward.“Where do you stop once we go to Hope School?” questioned Green. “Do we go to Terra Bella? Well, Terra Bella is their own entity. But where do we go next? Strathmore, Lindsay, Poplar, Cotton Center? Where do you stop?”Councilman A.J. Rivas also withheld support, noting he needed more information from staff and experts before feeling comfortable taking a position.Vice Mayor Ed McKervey said he shared Beltran’s wastewater concern but also urged caution about relying on the State Water Board’s assurances. He pointed to the Akin well project, where the state shifted the terms of its funding midway through.“We just saw recently with the finishing of that well, that they offered to pay for that well, and then they didn't,” said McKervey. “So we need to be careful that we don't get looped into something that then we get a mandate on the other side.”City staff clarified the Akin well did ultimately receive full state funding, though only after Porterville agreed to serve additional homes because the well produced more water than expected. The project, they noted, has taken years and remains incomplete, with pumping equipment now moving toward installation.Despite the caution, McKervey mentioned the long-term benefits of the study, noting connecting homes to the city’s system could eventually reduce the number of private wells drawing groundwater.“This could potentially help us with hooking more people up to water and abandoning wells long term for the city, so there's an upside to this too,” said McKervey.Beltran argued a feasibility study could help the city understand its true growth capacity, especially as new housing projects emerge in those surrounding areas.“It'd be really interesting to see our capacity for growth with development,” said Beltran. “It'd be really nice for us not to pay for something at some point, but that can show what our feasibility is for something like that, another track in those areas, and what have you.”A motion by Beltran to approve the staff recommendation passed on a 3–1–1 vote, with Green voting no and Rivas abstaining. The decision authorizes the city manager to issue a letter of interest to the Community Water Center, allowing the feasibility study to begin.</div>

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The Porterville City Council on Tuesday night agreed to participate in a state-funded feasibility study that will explore long-term drinking water solutions for roughly 280 homes currently relying on private wells north and south of the city. The Community Water Center, working with the State Water Board’s Division of Drinking...

Council backs water feasibility study

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The Porterville City Council on Tuesday night agreed to participate in a state-funded feasibility study that will explore long-term drinking water solution

Council backs water feasibility study

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