Bonita Elementary School is a significant step closer to ending years of reliance on bottled water caused by unsafe well conditions, after the Santa Maria City Council this month approved an agreement to connect it with the city water supply.

Bonita Elementary, which is located outside Santa Maria city limits on unincorporated land and is home to an average 600 students and staff, has faced persistent water problems for more than a decade.

The school’s well repeatedly tested for nitrates well above safe drinking levels, according to the school district and county environmental health records. Because the well water failed to meet safety standards, drinking water on campus has been supplied via bottled water dispensers.

The Council’s Dec. 2 action authorized treated potable water service

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