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FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Community SanitationWaterWastewater Management
Community Sanitation
Why wasn't sweeping completed in front of my home?There are many reasons why the sweeper may not have been able to remove debris from your street. Most often, it's because items such as cars, bicycles, toys, basketball hoops and refuse containers are blocking the roadway. Vehicles parked too close to each other for the sweeper to maneuver between them are another cause. Low hanging trees and shrubs can prevent sweepers from cleaning in front of your home as well.Back to topWhat can you do to help street sweepers?Keeping the roadway in front of your house free of large objects and obstructions is the best way to assist street sweeping. Large sticks, branches and pine needs will clog and jam the sweepers' operating systems.Back to topWhat about sweeping up leaves?During the winter months the focus of the City’s street sweeping efforts is leaf removal to help keep drains clear. To better assist sweepers, do not rake, blow or pile up leaves; doing so is considered illegal dumping. The sweeper cannot pick up large loads and debris will be left for you to remove. Please place leaves from your trees in your green solid waste-recycling container.Back to topSafety precautions near sweepers?Be sure to keep a safe distance between you and the sweeper at all times. Try to avoid maneuvering around sweeper trucks; move off to the side of the road until you are sure it is safe to continue. Keep children a safe distance from the sweepers. Do not ride, run or play near the trucks.Back to top
Water
BILLINGS FOR WATER: Who do I contact about my water bill and where can I pay my utilities bill?Fresno City Utilities and Collections (UB&C): (559) 621-6888
Click the link below for more information.
Utilities Billing & CollectionBack to topREPAIRS: Who do I call to have my water shut off for Repair?Call (559) 621-5300. After hours Water Emergencies: (559) 621-1100.
Click link below for more information.
Water Contact Information Back to topSTANDING WATER: Water accumulates in my gutter and on the street. Can you help?Call Water Conservation at (559) 621-5480 to investigate for over-watering, however, the problem may also be a low spot in the street or gutter where water accumulates. In that case, you may want to contact Street Maintenance at (559) 521-1492.Back to topWATER LINES: Where are water lines located near my home?Most of Fresno's main water pipe lines are buried in the street in front of your property (a few are in public utility easements). To establish water connection, a worker must tap into the main line with a smaller pipe line and then connect it to the customer's water meter service at the property.
For the customer to actually receive water, pipe lines from the private property must be connected into the water meter service the City has provided. The customer water meter service is usually located in the front of the property. The service is often marked. For information about locating your water meter service, call (559) 621-5300.
Note: Broken water lines and services will be repaired by the City; however, the home owner is responsible for any repairs at and after the point of their connection into the water meter service. Back to topWATER QUALITY - BOTTLED WATER: Should I buy bottled water?You do not need to buy bottled water for health reasons. The City's drinking water meets all of the federal, state, or provincial drinking water standards. If you want a drink with a different taste, you can buy bottled water, but it costs up to 1,000 times more than municipal drinking water. Of course, in emergencies bottled water can be a vital source of drinking water for people without water.Back to topWATER QUALITY - CHEMICALS: How do chemicals get into my water?Many of them, such as calcium, magnesium, iron, and others, occur naturally in water, and most of these "natural" chemicals are not harmful to your health. However, rain or overwater runoff, seeping through a hazardous waste dump and other such sites, eventually carries unwanted chemicals into underground water sources and pollutes waterways. But people are also responsible for a lot of the problem. For instance, if you paint your house with an oil-based paint, clean your brushes with paint thinner, and dump the paint thinner in the backyard, you can contaminate an aquifer that may be your own water supply.Back to topWATER QUALITY - CHLORINE: Is chlorine or fluoride added to our water?Fresno adds chlorine to the water it delivers. Your water may also be fluoridated. Call us at (559) 621-5300 or click below for more information.
Water Quality Back to topWATER QUALITY - CONTAMINATION: Why is rain or overwater runoff major sources of pollution and contamination?The same rain that helps fill reservoirs, swells rivers, and makes plants, trees and crops grow washes over dirty city streets, over piles of industrial waste, etc. Eventually the fallen rain, now called `runoff,' goes directly into surface drinking water sources or seeps down through the ground into underground water aquifers, carrying germs or chemicals - or both - with it.
Over-watering is also ‘runoff.’ As water runs off of lawns, flower beds, streets, parking lots and down the gutters it can become contaminated. Even though it takes a long time for water to soak in and reach the aquifer, it can still carry some of these pollutants. The City is then forced to treat the well sites to get rid of the contamination, which can be very expensive. Customers eventually could see this cost reflected in their bills. Landscape watering (lawns, flowerbeds) accounts for about 60% of the home water use in Fresno. Over half of that water is not used by plants. Adjust watering practices to keep water from running off into the gutters (where no grass grows).Back to topWATER QUALITY - FLUORIDE: Why are some areas fluoridated in Fresno City and some not?Fluoridation took place in Fresno County Waterworks Districts which were special districts located in County islands in the Fresno City sphere of influence. The City of Fresno continued to fluoride system in these areas when the Waterworks Districts merged with the City on January 1, 1989. Call (559) 621-5300 for more information.Back to topWATER QUALITY - SAFE WATER STANDARDS: What are water standards as related to water quality?Standards are typically numerical limits on the concentrations, or amounts, of a particular contaminant. In cases where a contaminant cannot be readily measured, such as particular microbiological organisms that can sicken humans, water supplies must provide specific treatment, such as disinfection and filtration, to ensure safe water. Such standards do not usually apply to private wells used by individual households.Back to topWATER QUALITY - SAFE WATER: Is Fresno's water safe to drink?Despite scare tactics used by some, you do not have to worry about the safety of your water supply. The City's water supply is strictly regulated by state and federal government standards -- among the most protective in the world -- and our water supply meets all standards. Fresno's water treatment systems are viewed as models of good treatment throughout California. Contact us at (559) 621-5300 or click below for more information.
Water Quality Back to topWATER QUALITY - SAND: What causes sand in my water?Although not harmful to your health, sand can be a nuisance for our customers and people maintaining the water system. The geologic formations from which our groundwater is pumped include layers of sand, gravel and clay particles. Older wells that were constructed without modern gravel filters and screens can periodically pump sand out from the formation. Fresno has about 100 such wells which are being replaced as funds allow. a new municipal well costs more than $400,000. Occasionally modern wells have various structural failures which also allow sand into the pump intake. You can help us prioritize replacements and repairs by letting us know if you find frequent or large amounts of sand in your system.Back to topWATER SCHEDULE: What days and hours can I water?Water Conservation Program: (559) 621-5480 or click on link below for the City of Fresno's Water Regulations & Restrictions.
Water Regulations & Restrictions Back to topWATER SCHEDULE: Why can't I water any day or time that I want?A watering schedule that is fair to all customers was developed so that everyone in the community can have enough water at a reliable pressure and at a reasonable rate.
For instance if all sprinklers in the City came on during the same day and at the same time, water pressure would dramatically decrease to individual customers and increase energy costs because our pumps must work harder. The schedule has also been adjusted to take advantage of the lower off-peak demand power costs. For the safety of the entire community, maintaining sufficient water pressure in the pipelines is essential for fighting fires.
About Fresno Fire Back to topWATER SOURCE: Where does our drinking water come from?For City of Fresno customers, the primary source of drinking water is derived from the Fresno Sole Source Aquifer, a large underground water system that supplies many communities in the San Joaquin Valley. The city operates approximately 250 wells that draw water from this aquifer. The groundwater supply is enhanced by water from the City's surface water treatment facility which receives and treats precipitation and snow melt water from the Kings and San Joaquin watersheds. Fresno has an aggressive recharge program that is continually finding new places and methods to conduct groundwater recharge. Water recharge operations can slow this decline, but with conservation, you can help have a greater impact.Back to topWATER SUPPLY: Is our Groundwater level dropping?In the last 70 years, Fresno's water level has dropped from less than 30 feet below the surface in 1930 to approximately 120 feet below the surface in 2003.
See Historic Water Level Graph Back to topWATER SUPPLY: Will we have enough water in the future?Good planning and careful use of this precious resource is essential to maintaining a sufficient water supply. To help address these issues, the City implemented a water recharge program. Water is brought down from Millerton Lake and put into ponding basins throughout the city where it soaks (percolates) back into the ground. Of course, we have to pay for this water and it does take some time to percolate into the aquifer. This program, along with the rainfall, helps us replace water pulled out of the ground.
Another tool to maintain a sufficient water supply is the City's Surface Water Treatment Facility. This facility helps supplement the groundwater delivered to the community. Surface water from the snow melt is treated at the site and delivered through pipelines to customers. Water treatment is certified by the California State Health Department and must meet all water quality regulations. Water from the facility is the first treated surface water the City of Fresno has delivered to its customers.
You, as an individual, can also help by making a serious effort to save water. We hope you will try to influence your family, friends and neighbors so that they, too, will develop good water conservation habits to insure that the community will have a reliable water supply in the future.
Surface Water Treatment Facility
Water Recharge Back to topWATER WASTE: How can water be wasted or lost? According to the hydrologic cycle, all water is reused. You are correct when you say water comes back as rain, but it is not spread out evenly on the earth. Some areas have conditions (clouds, evapotranspiration) that cause more rain to fall; other areas have different conditions (cold dry air, lack of clouds) that make the amount of rainfall very small. The earth's surface is nearly three-fourths water so naturally most rain falls into the ocean. The average yearly rainfall for Fresno is about 10.5 inches but even in just the area of the City some places will receive more and some less from any storm. (Traditionally, a region that annually receives less than an average of 10" of rain each year is called a desert.) In comparison, the average yearly rainfall in Phoenix, Arizona is 7.5", Modesto 12", and San Francisco 20.4".
As Fresno continues to grow, there is more demand on the groundwater supply. Even in the wettest years there is not enough rain to replace the groundwater that we use. Fresno's climate may sometimes have several years in a row where we may get only about half of our normal amount of rain.
Please see links below.
Monthly summaries of Fresno's weather, including historic rainfall:
Hydrologic Cycle information
Hydrologic Cycles in many languages Back to topWATER WASTE: How do I report water waste?Water Conservation Program: (559) 621-5480, or use the link below to report on-line.
Waste Water Reporting Back to top
Wastewater Management
Who runs the wastewater treatment plant?Highly trained, experienced, State-certified treatment plant operators employed by the City of Fresno are on duty 24 hours a day, every day, to oversee treatment plant processes, and to react promptly to any unusual condition. Many controls of treatment processes are highly automated requiring a great deal of technical expertise. Other processes require manual controls which rely on the operators frequent physical presence to observe conditions and make adjustments. Weekends, holidays, and at the wee hours of the morning...operators are carefully monitoring every aspect of the facility.Back to topHow reliable is the treatment facility?Reliability at the Fresno/Clovis Regional Water Reclamation Facility is very high. The plant is staffed 24 hours a day with operators who are able to respond to any situations that arise. Critical treatment processes are designed with redundant equipment, which means that if a mechanical or electrical component fails, a spare is waiting to take its place. Mechanical and electrical staff members are on-call 24 hours a day in case of a failure that requires their immediate assistance. Maintenance staff aggressively cares for the equipment to predict and prevent breakdowns, further adding to the reliability of the facility.Back to topHow is the quality of treated wastewater ensured?Our on-site instrumentation provides information and records data on wastewater quality around the clock. Information is collected and stored automatically in a database for evaluation by our operational process specialists. Samples are collected and analyzed by certified laboratory technicians in our on-site, State-certified laboratory. This information is also added automatically to our operational database. Independent laboratories periodically verify quality as well.Back to top
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