WATER DELIVERY SYSTEM
Water is our most precious resource, Please use it wisely!
Current Water Conditions
WHEN ENTERING THE COMMUNITY, PLEASE NOTE THE BONITA COMPANY WATER STAGE SIGN LOCATED AT THE CORNER OF THE FIREHOUSE.
STAGE 1 - Normal Operation
STAGE 4 - PLEASE CONSERVE! All residents conserve water as the creek could be too muddy to pump, there has been a flood, or there are major repair issues. We are working hard to get us back pumping normally for your water needs. Thank you.
PLEASE NOTE: Per ADEQ, If the water company finds that ANYONE is abusing the system, while in STAGE 4, you will have a lock put on your meter until we are back in Stage 1.
The water is tested monthly and a copy of the results are sent directly to ADEQ, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, which also conducts annual inspections to make sure the system is in compliance with all governmental standards.
NOTICE TO ALL WATER CUSTOMERS: THE WATER COMPANY REQUIRES ALL USERS TO HAVE AN ADDITIONAL VALVE INSTALLED NEAR THE METER BOX TO TURN THEIR WATER ON AND OFF. DO NOT USE THE WATER COMPANY METERED VALVE FOR THIS PURPOSE. THANK YOU.
To view ADEQ water testing reports CLICK HERE.
Water Information
Bonita Water Company currently serves about 62 customers as of 2023.
Potable water is available to all properties in Bonita Creek. The water is pumped from Bonita Creek near the forest service boundary and treated as follows:
A metered alum solution is injected into the pumped water near the intake and passed through a static mixer. The alum coagulates the small particulates allowing the water to be filtered more effectively.
The water is then filtered through a large sand filter, followed by a multimedia filter and lastly, a cartridge finishing filter.
The water then passes through an ultra-violet purification system and a computerized turbidameter tests the water clarity. Should the turbidity exceed acceptable limits, the system is automatically shut down.
A metered amount of chlorine is injected into the water as it is sent to the storage tanks.
From the tanks the distribution system directs the potable water throughout the community.
Water Delivery System Your Water, Delivered
The Bonita Creek Water delivery system begins at the inlet which is placed in our spring water stream. It is pumped up hill to our holding tanks and is then gravity fed throughout our community into our homes.
Currently the community has enough storage for 30,000 gallons of water. That may seem like a lot, however the purified water is pumped to the residents who use an average of 2100 gallons per month per 2 member household. Please use it wisely. Excess water use requires additional pumping, electricity, filter changes and chemicals. The average monthly water bill does not cover these additional costs. Furthermore, we are a volunteer community to keep our water flowing. Please do your best to conserve.
Understanding Our Water Water Taste
Carbon filtration for taste and odor control would add more challenges to Bonita Creek Water Company for something that is not guaranteed to satisfy customers. Carbon filtration does remove taste and odor from several sources in surface drinking water systems but not everything. Specifically for Bonita Creek, taste and odor may be coming from several sources including degrading organics in the creek, tannin and ligands leaching out of leaves and pine needles, algae degradation (MIB and geosmin) and disinfection by-products (from chlorination). Although the carbon filtration does help there is no guarantee. The cheapest and easiest way to know if it would be beneficial or not is to use a Britta filter. Britta filters are simple carbon filters built into pitchers or attachments on faucets, the use of these would show how well a carbon filter would work for the system.
The up front cost to install a carbon filter could be $10,000 or more, including equipment, installation, and engineering design. Other routine costs and challenges with carbon filtration is the media residual. Once the media is spent, new media would need to be purchased and the old disposed of in a landfill. But before a landfill would accept the spent media it would need to go through extensive testing to make sure it is not considered hazardous. Adding additional treatment to the drinking water system could also move it from a grade 2 treatment facility to a grade 3 and thus more regulations would be needed.
In Conclusion, the easiest and most cost effective treatments for taste and odor are point of use (POU) units or Britta filters. A whole house unit costs roughly $2500. A more simple carbon filtration for your kitchen faucet cost under $100. Please CONTACT us if you have an questions. Thank you.