If you’re buying or selling near the Hall Well on Halifax Road or the Mariposa and Mission View wells on Live Oak Avenue, the approved work is new Cr-6 treatment equipment at existing water facilities. California American Water Company plans treatment vessels, storage tanks, chemical buildings and related improvements. The city’s staff reports say the projects will not increase groundwater pumping or existing well capacity.
This is general information and not legal advice.
What did Temple City approve?
The Temple City Planning Commission approved two Conditional Use Permits on September 22, 2026, each by a 5-0 vote.
File PL 26-5203 covers the Hall Well facility at 5636 Halifax Road, near Live Oak Avenue. File PL 25-5202 covers the Mariposa and Mission View Well facility at 9442 Live Oak Avenue, near Cloverly Avenue. The City Council received and filed those actions on October 20, 2026, as consent item 7.B. You can check the actions through the city agenda portal.
Planning Commission hearing notice was mailed to property owners within 300 feet at least 14 days before the hearing.
Both sites are zoned Single-Family Residential, with that zoning on all four sides. Because those zoning rules do not specifically address public utility facilities, a Director’s Determination identified a Conditional Use Permit as the appropriate entitlement. That determination is limited to necessary infrastructure at these sites.
Approval does not tell you when construction starts or finishes. Ask for the current construction schedule.
What equipment is planned at each site?
Each site is planned to receive two treatment vessels, a backwash storage tank and an enclosed chemical storage building, along with pumps, piping, electrical equipment and controls.
The treatment vessels are 10 feet 6 inches tall. Each chemical building is 844 square feet and 16 feet tall. The backwash tanks are about 39 feet in diameter, but their heights differ: about 19 feet at Halifax Road and 26 feet 9 inches at Live Oak Avenue.
Staff compared the tanks with residential height limits. At Halifax Road, R-1 allows 32 feet, so the 19 foot tank is about 13 feet lower. At Live Oak Avenue, R-1 allows 28 feet for lots under 75 feet wide, so the 26 foot 9 inch tank is 1 foot 3 inches lower.
Placement matters when you’re looking from a nearby property. At Halifax Road, the backwash tank has a front setback of 20 feet 8 inches, a side setback of 12 feet 4 inches and a rear setback of 27 feet 8 inches. At Live Oak Avenue, the chemical building is 65 feet 4 inches from the front property line.
Compare your view with the plans in the Hall Well packet or the Mariposa and Mission View packet.
Why is Cr-6 treatment being added?
The city’s staff reports say the treatment improvements are necessary to comply with the state’s drinking water quality requirements for hexavalent chromium, or Cr-6.
The State Water Resources Control Board identifies the drinking water maximum contaminant level as 10 parts per billion. The rule became effective October 1, 2024. Compliance dates are phased by public water system size, but the city’s staff reports do not say which compliance date applies to California American Water’s system.
The proposed process is Reduction-Coagulation-Filtration, or RCF. It uses chemical treatment and filtration to remove Cr-6 from groundwater before the water enters California American Water’s drinking water distribution system. The State Water Board identifies RCF as one of its best available treatment technologies.
The approval packets contain no Cr-6 test results for these wells. You cannot use the approval alone to determine a measured level.
What did the city require for noise?
The city required noise attenuation and field testing, including nighttime measurements, before the building permit is finaled.
The residential exterior noise limits are 55 dBA during daytime hours and 45 dBA at night. Because equipment may operate 24 hours a day, the studies used the nighttime limit. Projected cumulative noise without attenuation was 51 dBA at both sites. With attenuation, the projections were 32 dBA at Halifax Road and 33 dBA at Live Oak Avenue.
Those are projections. The conditions also require verification after installation:
- Final acoustical specifications need Community Development Director approval before building permits.
- Enclosures or other attenuation must be installed before final building inspection.
- A qualified acoustical professional must take field measurements, including during nighttime operation.
- If testing shows noncompliance, additional attenuation must be installed before the permit is finaled.
Attenuation equipment must remain in good working condition for the life of the project. Ask for the field measurement report and permit final status when checking completed work.
Say a buyer tours a home near the Hall Well and wants to understand how the planned equipment might sound at night. The buyer can ask the city for the approved acoustical specifications, field noise measurements and permit final status. Under the city’s conditions, a qualified acoustical professional must measure noise after installation, including nighttime operation. If testing shows noncompliance, additional attenuation must be installed before the building permit is finaled. The projected noise level alone would not answer whether that required testing is complete.
What screening and operating conditions apply?
The conditions require walls, landscaping, fencing and lighting controls, along with restrictions on chemical storage and deliveries.
A six-foot-high block wall is required along side and rear property lines where one does not already exist, with irrigated hedges to screen equipment from adjacent residential properties. Areas visible from the street and the parkway must be landscaped and irrigated.
Existing front chain-link and barbed-wire fencing must be replaced with view-obscuring decorative metal fencing, set back 10 feet from the front property line. Landscaping belongs between the fence and sidewalk. New exterior lighting must be shielded and directed downward.
Operations are primarily automated. The chemicals are to be kept in separate tanks inside the enclosed chemical building, and Condition No. 11 requires storage in the designated area with secondary containment. Deliveries are expected about once a month and must occur during daytime hours except in emergencies. Delivery vehicles must stay on site and may not idle.
At Halifax Road, an unused driveway and approach must also be replaced to match adjacent improvements, and the paved parking surface replaced with irrigated landscaping.
How can you check the water serving your address?
Check your water bill or ask the seller which provider serves the address, then request that provider’s annual Consumer Confidence Report.
The project records do not identify which Temple City addresses California American Water serves. Proximity to a well site does not answer that question. The guide to how buyers check the water provider in Hemet offers another example of making the inquiry by address.
The State Water Board directs readers seeking Cr-6 levels to water systems’ annual Consumer Confidence Reports. Detections are required to be reported there; testing information may also be available through California’s Drinking Water Watch. Water being treated to comply must be tested monthly.
Ask the provider for the report and any available testing information relevant to your address.
What should you gather before buying or listing nearby?
Gather the applicable approval packet, current project status and water provider information so your questions concern the specific property.
Ask the city about building permit status, approved acoustical specifications, field noise measurements and completion of required screening. Ask California American Water about the construction schedule and planned deliveries.
If you’re preparing to sell, use the California seller disclosure guide to organize questions about the records you have. For general background on what NHD reports cover, read the NHD report guide.
These approvals do not establish an effect on property value. They also do not establish construction completion or current water test results.
The short version
Temple City approved Cr-6 treatment at two existing well sites, subject to noise testing, screening and operating conditions.
For a nearby purchase or sale, check the approved plans, current permit status and completed noise measurements. Confirm your water provider separately and read its Consumer Confidence Report.
For a separate look at your property’s value, use the home value tool.
Common questions
Which Temple City well sites received approval?
The Planning Commission approved treatment improvements at the Hall Well facility at 5636 Halifax Road and the Mariposa and Mission View Well facility at 9442 Live Oak Avenue on September 22, 2026.
Will the projects increase groundwater pumping?
Both city staff reports say there will not be an increase in groundwater pumping volume or an expansion of existing well capacity.
What noise testing did the city require?
A qualified acoustical professional must take field measurements, including during nighttime operation, before the building permit is finaled. Additional attenuation is required if testing shows noncompliance.
Does the approval establish the Cr-6 level in your tap water?
The approval packets provide no Cr-6 test results for these wells. Check which provider serves your address and request its annual Consumer Confidence Report.
