Davis residents can expect to find the city’s 2010 annual water quality report in the mail this week, which provides a status update on the condition of municipal water supplies.

The report, prepared in accordance with state and federal regulations, explains where Davis water comes from, what’s in it and how it compares to state and federal standards.

As part of the city’s ongoing efforts to improve water quality and supplies, it recently invested in a 4 million-gallon water tank near Interstate 80. The city built the tank to improve water pressure and flows in East and South Davis.

Additionally, for long-term quality and supply reliability, the city plans to tap into higher-quality surface water from the Sacramento River to use in conjunction with groundwater supplies. In 2009, the cities of Davis and Woodland formed the Woodland-Davis Clean Water Agency to build and operate a regional surface water supply project, including a new water treatment facility.

When the project is completed in 2016, Davis water will be softer, easier on water-using appliances and meet all current and future anticipated water quality and wastewater discharge regulations, said Bob Clarke, the city’s interim director of public works.

The bulk of the project is expected to be paid through rates for water service. Later this month, the city will introduce a series of proposed water rate increases to support the project.

Davis’ share of the overall project cost — $35.1 million — will double residents’ water rates, from $40 now to $90 in nine years, according to agency data released in February.

Currently, Davis relies on groundwater only for all of its water supplies. In 2010, the city provided municipal water service using 20 wells that tapped into local groundwater aquifers ranging from 210 to 1,800 feet deep, a city news release said.

Although the city’s water is naturally filtered by sands and clays as it travels underground, it is also chlorinated at each well site before being delivered to approximately 16,400 connections throughout Davis, the news release said.

According to Clarke, the city takes aggressive measures to protect the quality of its water supply, including shutting down wells that are no longer reliable, and conducting an ongoing infrastructure maintenance and improvement program. The new water tank is an example of infrastructure improvements.

“The city’s ongoing water quality monitoring program tests for biological, inorganic, organic and radioactive constituents, many of which occur from the erosion of natural deposits in the groundwater aquifers,” Clarke said.

Arsenic, selenium and nitrate were among the constituents detected during monitoring, Clarke said, but they are all “at levels well below limits that would be considered harmful under state and federal standards.”

Davis water users concerned about water quality, or who have questions about the 2010 Annual Water Quality Report, may contact the Public Works Department at (530) 757-5686.

More information about the regional surface water supply project will be available at a community meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 9, at the Davis Senior Center, 646 A St. Project details are also available at http://www.wdcwa.com.

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