Thomas Esqueda, associate vice president of water and susainability at Fresno State and executive director of the California Water Institute discusses groundwater contamination and overpumping at the Arsenic Symposium at Fresno State on Oct. 11.
(Courtesy of Jordan College of Ag Sciences and Technology) The California Water Institute at Fresno State hosted the Arsenic Symposium, a community event focused on analyzing arsenic levels in groundwater.
Thomas Esqueda, Fresno State’s associate vice president of water and sustainability and the executive director of the California Water Institute, said the need for discussions about water infrastructure and safety is especially relevant in the San Joaquin Valley.
“Because we live in this environment where we are pretty much a rural area, the San Joaquin Valley, closely linked to ag, can’t grow food without water.
With the anticipated growth of the Valley’s population, Esqueda said it is vital to begin planning and implementing infrastructure that will supply safe, dependable water for the Valley.
“There’s no lack of water issues in the Valley.” Fresno State utilizes both public water supply wells as well as its own irrigation wells on the campus.
Esqueda said the two issues to focus on regarding water are the quality and the quantity of water in the Valley.
While the Arsenic Symposium addressed quality of water issues, a future event planned for January will discuss solutions concerning the Valley’s quantity of water.
The symposium took place one day after the fourth annual “Imagine a Day Without Water” events, for which Fresno State’s California Water Institute partnered with the city of Fresno, elected officials, water utilities and community leaders to raise awareness of the need for investing in the nation’s water infrastructure.
“People have to have food, and people have to have water.”