City Councilman Paul Boyer puts Farmersville first, but that doesnít stop him from helping out small, rural communities throughout Tulare County.

Boyer recently worked with local legislators to draft two laws that would help provide better water quality to communities struggling with pesticide contamination of their drinking water. While one passed and one didnít, his efforts continue to help communities such as Plainview and Tooleville make progress for their families.

The first law, authored by State Assemblymember Juan Arambula (D-Fresno), created a state fund to provide advance money for wastewater projects beginning Jan. 1, 2009. Signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger earlier this month, AB 2356 will set aside $50 million from the State Water Pollution Control for loans and financial assistance for the construction of publicly owned wastewater treatment projects.

The law states that the State Water Resourcees Control Board ìwould be required to give priority to projects that serve severely disadvantaged communities,î such as Plainview, a community of 200 homes on 40 acres west of Strathmore. The law described ìseverely disadvantaged communityî as ìa population of 20,000 persons or less with an annual median household income that is less than 80% of the statewide annual median household income.

ìMost of the communities in our area are severely disadvantaged,î Boyer said. ìLast year they ran out of money and even $50 million wonít solve all the problems. But it is more than any other fund set up in the past.î

Boyer said the law would provide up to 25% of the financial assistance for a project (up to $ 1 million) in advance to meet deadlines required by state grant funding.

ìThat section of the law will help with cash flow because it can take a long time to get planning done even before you get to the construction phase,î Boyer said.

Plainview would definitely benefit by having money to fix their septic tank problems. Boyer said the septic tanks were buried in the 1940s and are now overflowing and leaking into the groundwater and coming up through the ground in alleyways between homes. However, Boyer did say that Plainview is moving forward on plans to replace its aging water lines, which also contribute to the contamination.

Boyer was also working with State Sen. Roy Ashburn (R-Bakersfield) on a law that would allow rural communities to connect to water and sewer systems of nearby cities.

ìUnfortunately, that did not make it into this budget,î Boyer said.

The law would have allowed cities to connect smaller communities without violating their charter city status, a lengthy legal process that allows city governments to avoid paying prevailing wage on contstruction projects. Charter Cities save about 30% on the cost of construction projects by not paying prevailing wage.

The law would have specifically helped communities such as Tooleville, which has been trying to connect to the City of Exeter for years. Both Lindsay and Visalia attempted to help surrounding communities with water issues by connecting only to later find out that it violated their charter status following a few legal rulings.

ìThere are so many new requirements for water each year that it has become impossible for small water districts to meet them,î Boyer said. ìIt is also good for the water users because joining a larger district can mean much lower usage rates.î

Boyer said Tooleville is continuing to work with Exeter to come up with an alternative plan, such as purchasing one of the cityís wells which is underproducing for Exeter, but would provide enough gallons per minute for the roughly 77 homes in Tooleville, located on Morgan and Albert streets east of Spruce Road.

Next week, Boyer said Tooleville will go out to bid for construction of new pipelines that will create a complete loop in water system to fix leaks and improve water pressure. The project is being funded by a $90,000 Community Block Development Grant and will also include new fire hydrants and add shut off valves for each home. Currently, the entire system must be shut down to prepare leaks. The new pipelines would also put Tooleville in a better position to connect to the City of Exeter if proper legislation is passed.

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