FAQ

To serve you better, we've assembled a list of our customers' most frequently asked questions. If you don't find your answer here, feel free to contact us.

You may not have - the numbers on your meter may have been transposed or hard to read. While we do try and catch these errors prior to sending bills sometimes we may not catch them. Also, you could possibly have a leaky toilet or faucet that's difficult to detect. Just call the office and we'll work with you to solve the problem.

Check your meter and the surrounding area for possible leaks. Next, call our office and report low pressure for your area.

A repair could have been completed recently allowing air to enter the line, causing the milky look.

All public water systems are required to maintain a minimum chlorine level of 0.2 mg/L (tested at the end of each line) by state law. Systems that use chloramine as a disinfectant must maintain a level of 0.5 mg/L by state law. Our disinfectant levels are tested daily to ensure safety.

Most likely your water heater needs to be flushed. CAUTION: Most manufacturers recommend hiring a professional to flush your water heater. If you plan on doing this yourself, read the owner's manual to keep from being hurt and or damaging the water heater.

We may have received it after the due date or we may not have received it at all. Call our office and we will help you solve the problem.

We bill on a bi-monthly billing cycle.  Bills are typically sent out in January, March, May, July, September, & November.  In the past due to the pandemic and other events we've had a number of disruptions to this normal billing cycle.  If you feel like you should have recieved a bill but haven't please contact us at (707) 878-2400.

Trihalomethanes (THMs) are a by-product of water treatment when chlorine based disinfectants are added to water during treatment.  Estero Mutual Water Company employs a state-of-the-art water treatment plant to minimize the amount of chlorine added to our water.  Per the CDC...

"THMs, and to a lesser extent HAAs, are currently used as indicator chemicals for all potentially harmful compounds formed by the addition of chlorine to water. In many countries the levels of THMs and HAAs in chlorinated water supplies are regulated based on this assumption."

In California THMs in drinking water are regulated and EMWC conducts regular sampling of its water to ensure our water is safe to drink.  Annually, we send customers a water quality consumer confidence report based on independent laboratory analysis of water samples from our system to ensure our THM levels are within mandated limits.

The most effective way to minimize THMs is by use of home based active carbon filters.  Undersink filters work well as do whole home filters.  Just be sure the filter is active carbon based and maintained according to the manufacturers recommendations.  For more info on home filtration visit the CDC's Guide to Drinking Water Treatment Technologies for Household Use.