Nicasio School has received three citations for below-standard drinking water since 2016, but administrators are hopeful that installation of a new filtration system will end the issues with water quality. The citations, which came out of tests in August 2016, July 2018 and July 2019, are difficult to avoid because the school has an outdated filtration system and uses almost no water during the summer. “Until the [system] upgrade happens, we run the risk of being cited again,” principal Barbara Snekkevik told trustees this month. Currently, the water is treated with disinfectant in two 10,000-gallon concrete tanks. In the summer, when no one is at the school, the disinfectant reacts with organic matter in the water and forms haloacetic acid, a contaminant. The level of haloacetic acid revealed in the test results doesn’t present an immediate risk or the need to drink bottled water; still, according to the California State Water Resources Control Board, some people who drink water with excessive haloacetic acid over many years may have an increased risk of cancer. Following a citation, the school district is required to notify families and evaluate its operations by completing checklists. “The way to resolve this issue is our big water system upgrade project,” Ms. Snekkevik said. The district will apply for grant funding for the project this year and is anticipating that the state will cover the full cost. The upgrade will include a filtration system specifically designed for shallow wells. Instead of the concrete tanks, a smaller, 5,000-gallon polyethylene tank that currently sits empty will be used to store treated water, so the water won’t sit as long. “We don’t know for sure, but the haloacetic acid should go away with that new system,” said Gary Mickelson, a water treatment specialist for Jerry and Don’s Yager Pump & Well Service, the company contracted to monitor the school’s water. On the collection side, Nicasio School’s well is only 25 feet deep, so the state considers its groundwater to be under the direct influence of surface water. That triggers the need for additional oversight: once a week, Mr. Mickelson or one of his coworkers verifies that the system is working. He estimates that the school’s costs will go by down by 75 percent with a deeper well. About five years ago, the school tried to drill a 50-foot well but bored four dry holes. “It’s an ongoing burden for them,” he said. The school is relying on the California Department of Water Resources for relief, but it has had to be patient during the grant process. It’s taken years for the financial and technical aspects of the project to be hammered out, but Ms. Snekkevik is encouraged by what she is hearing from the state. “I think we have some actual movement and traction,” she said.