Drinking fountains — at least the ones that worked — were hard to find in City of Manteca parks and other public places even before the pandemic hit.

Then COVID-19 basically prompted people to eschew drinking fountains altogether.

Making it possible for people to secure drinking water when they are at public facilities is listed among the priorities and needs for Manteca’s public works division for the upcoming fiscal year starting July 1.

The city hopes to determine locations for water bottle filling stations and then install them in the coming fiscal year.

Manteca Unified before students returned to in-person learning replaced all drinking fountains at school campuses with water bottle filling stations.

While it isn’t clear exactly what type of water bottle filling station Manteca is considering, many cities opt for a combo approach allowing bottles to the filled along with traditional drinking fountains.

That said, a number of jurisdictions have gone with the water bottle filling station only to avoid historic maintenance and operational issues traditional water drinking fountains are typically plagued with when placed in city parks.  

Among other goals for the fiscal year starting July 1 for public works as outlined at a council budget workshop earlier this year:

*Procuring long-term contracts for municipal solid waste, recycling, and organics that include food waste and allow a wide range of recyclables to be recycled and not landfilled.

*Fencing and sidewalk improvements along Crom Street on the northern border of the municipal golf course.

*Working with the San Joaquin Rail Commission for the expansion of the Manteca Transit Center parking lot to accommodate future ACE passenger train rail service.

*Securing a site for a Manteca Transit bus yard.

*Reducing the amount of annual water loss through advanced metering analytics, hydrant check valves, recording of quantity of water flushed for water quality purposes, and ensure meter accuracy.

*Maintaining minimum of 40 PSI at all times throughout the water distribution system.

*Stepping up city wide street repair work.

*Implementing route software for solid waste to maximize the number of households a truck can serve in one day.

*Updating design guidelines for neighborhood parks. They were last updated in 2017.

*Update park planning user fees.

*Develop a vehicle replacement plan.

*Increase frequency on bus service on high ridership Manteca Transit routes.

*Continue to upgrade and enhance water well and treatment sites.

*Continue to improve and upgrade storm pumps, pump stations, and lines.

*Conduct water and wastewater community-wide education and outreach.

*Reduce energy consumption and make gains in operational efficiency such as by installing variable frequency drives on water pumps.

Listed among public works accomplishments for 2024 were:

*Fixed route Manteca Transit ridership was up 18 percent from 2023 that included 20,979 youth trips in 2024.

*Obtained an electric van and charge for Dial-a-Ride service.

*91 public works employees received Class B driving training.

*Added 21 light duty/medium duty trucks, 9 heavy duty trucks, and 7 off-road vehicles.

*Swept more than 300 miles of city streets to clean up and keep debris from entering city storm drains.

*Completed various street pavement upgrade projects.

*Conducted 172 asphalt repair projects.

*Used 32 tons of asphalt to fill potholes.

*100 street lights were repaired.

*186 tons of leaves were collected.

*Advanced waste-to-fuel program converting wastewater solids into renewable energy.

*Installed smart lids on sanitary sewer maintenance holes to prevent sanitary sewer overflow.

*Upgraded wastewater treatment plant facility for improved capacity and efficiency.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com