Cloverdale gets grant to improve drinking water

Cloverdale is among a group of cities and water districts that will benefit from drought relief grants issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The agency on Friday announced Cloverdale will receive $285,000 as part of more than $9.7 million in grants going to California communities affected by the drought.

Cloverdale City Manager Paul Cayler said the funds will go toward a project to help remove air bubbles in incoming well water that have caused problems with the clarification and filtration system.

“It upsets the water treatment system,” he said of the “entrapped air” that has shut down the pumping system temporarily in the past and forced the city to switch to its reservoir supplies.

More than two dozen water districts and small cities in California are receiving grants, which are intended for communities that have experienced a significant decline in the quantity or quality of their drinking water.