The Annual Water Quality Report is Here!



Do you have questions about water quality in Davis? The City has answers! The 2024 Water Quality Report is now available online. The City is pleased to report that in 2024, as in past years, the City’s water supply did not have any violations of the maximum contaminant levels for water quality.

The U.S. Safe Drinking Water Act requires all community water systems to report annually on any regulated contaminants that were detected in the drinking water supply and provide this information to their water customers. The Annual Water Quality Report covers water quality data from January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024. The report was posted to the City’s website on May 30, 2025, and customers will receive notice of the report in their June City utility bills.

In addition to listing the various minerals and other elements (that are known collectively as “constituents”) that were detected in the City’s drinking water, the report also contains mandatory reporting on topics such as the sources of drinking water and how it is treated, potential sources of constituents and other related educational information. The report also contains information on water conservation and tips on understanding your water usage on the City utility bill.

View the City’s Water Quality Report online. Customers can contact the City of Davis Water Division at Water@CityofDavis.org or call the Public Works Utilities and Operations Department at 530-757-5686 to request an electronic (PDF) or paper copy of the report.

Moving Out or Clearing Out?

If you are planning to move soon, or if you’re clearing out unwanted items, be sure to make a plan for unwanted household goods, furniture and clothing. Check out our webpage for info on how to donate, sell or give away unwanted reusable materials. 

Dumpsters are for trash not for donations. Plan ahead and make sure your first option for getting rid of unwanted household items, clothing and furniture is NOT a dumpster.

Local thrift stores usually accept a wide variety of reusable goods. Please call individual stores to verify drop-off times and if they can currently accept your items.

Big Blue Barn Thrift Store, Yolo County Central Landfill 

44090 County Road 28H, Woodland | 530-666-8727

Donations accepted 7 days a week from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.



Goodwill Donation Xpress

417 Mace Boulevard | 530-231-5111

Donations accepted 7 days a week from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Goodwill Thrift Store

1640 E. 8th St., Davis | 530-564-4474

Donations accepted 7 days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Yolo County SPCA Thrift Store

920 3rd St., Davis | 530-758-0544

Donations accepted Mon. Sat. from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Please be responsible as you are moving or clearing out, and do not leave items on the street, sidewalk or in your front yard. Leaving furniture, mattresses and other household items in front of your property or on the street and sidewalk is a violation of City Code and may be a safety hazard for bicycles and pedestrians. See our webpage for ways to recycle or reuse your unwanted stuff.

Bulky Waste Vouchers Have Arrived!

The City and Recology are offering a one-time Bulky Waste Landfill Voucher again this year. This voucher was mailed on May 23 to all Davis residents. The voucher is your ticket for the program, so be sure to hold onto it and bring it with you when you go to the Yolo County Landfill.

The voucher will allow Davis residents to dispose of one free load of bulky waste at the Yolo County Central Landfill. The voucher will have details on material acceptance and will be valid only for City of Davis residents; commercial haulers and business materials will not be accepted.

More information is available on Recology Davis’ website.

No Yard Material Piles Until October

On-street collection of yard trimmings in piles is available only during certain times of the year. On-street collection has ended for the season. The next scheduled on-street collection will occur during the week of October 20. More information about the on-street collection of yard materials.

Yard materials are still collected every week in your organics cart(s). Roll your organics cart around the yard as you do your pruning, weed pulling and raking and fill it right up! Cut yard materials into smaller sizes as needed to maximize space in your cart.

Your organics cart can also handle fruit and veggie peelings, spoiled food, bones, paper plates, used paper towels and more! All the material placed in the cart is brought to the composting facility at the Yolo Landfill and turned into nutrient-rich compost.

Visit the City of Davis Organics webpage for more information on organics cart collection.

Pest or Partner: Hoverflies and Crane Flies

Partner: Syrphid Fly

Often mistaken for bees or wasps, Hoverflies or Flower-flies (technically called syrphids) are welcome partners to any garden, but they look a bit like wasps. This insect mimicry helps these stripe-banded flies survive as other predators assume a stinger is waiting nearby for defense. Moving up, down and all around in quick, hovering movements similar to a hummingbird, the adult fly will travel to blooming flowers in search of tasty nectar and honeydew. Hoverfly larvae are voracious consumers of soft-bodied garden pests, such as aphids, thrips and mites. With over 300 species of hoverflies in California, be on the lookout for these partners the next time you’re out admiring the garden.

Pest: Crane Fly

Crane Flies or “Mosquito Hawks” as they are often called are actually not mosquitoes or even predators of other insects. Often found near irrigated landscapes, porch lights and found flying into our faces, adult crane flies are relatively harmless as they lack piercing mouth parts to bite like their mosquito cousins. Crane fly larvae however can cause damage to turfgrass as they feed on roots and crowns during the fall. Crane flies require wet soils to live, so adjustments in landscape irrigation, fertilization, thatch reduction and aeration are the primary ways to reduce turf damage from larvae and the emergence of nuisance adults. You can also encourage the crane fly's top predators (song birds, hummingbirds and grub-eating animals) to the garden for a tasty snack. 

Did you know you can: Recycle Electronics?

Electronic items (anything that runs off of batteries or has an electrical cord) should never be placed in the trash because they probably have toxic elements. If your electronic stuff can’t be donated or sold for reuse, please recycle them responsibly.

Anyone who lives in Yolo County can recycle electronics for free at the Yolo County Central Landfill every day (fees apply for appliances and for businesses that bring in electronics).

It’s really important to keep electronics out of the trash. Electronics with embedded batteries like cell phones, wireless speakers and electric toothbrushes can cause dangerous fires when they end up in the trash. Trash collection trucks compact waste as they collect it, and crushing rechargeable batteries causes dangerous fires to erupt. More information on recycling batteries and electronics responsibly.  

Summer Irrigation Tips

Our gardens and landscapes need more water in the summer months which is why Davis homes typically use twice the amount of water in the summer as they do in the winter. To help conserve water during the summer, follow the tips below:

Inspect your irrigation system. Test your irrigation system to make sure it’s functioning properly as issues are not always visible unless the system is running. Look for broken and/or misaligned sprinkler heads (to avoid water on driveways and sidewalks) and leaking pipes. Check drip irrigation for broken and/or missing emitters, breaks in the drip lines, and any other damage.

Late nights and early mornings are best. Run your irrigation system in the early morning or late at night to prevent evaporation. Be sure to check the batteries in your irrigation controller every 6 months and replace as needed to ensure your controller continues to run properly. Irrigation controllers sometimes revert to factory settings after even a brief power outage.

Convert your landscape. If you have turf, consider removing all or part of it and replacing it with low-water use plants. For your existing plants, add a layer of 3 to 4 inches of mulch around the plants to retain moisture, protect against the summer heat and suppress weeds.

Cut back on irrigation days or times. Decrease each watering station (zone) of your irrigation by a minute or two to conserve water. If your plants are doing well with the reduced timing, consider cutting back even more. Although up to three days per week watering is allowed under the current irrigation schedule, this is a maximum amount of irrigation each week. Consider dropping irrigation to two days per week and see how your landscape does and then if needed, the third day can be added back in during extended heat waves.

More Information About Watering Landscapes

Achoo! Got Allergies? Don’t Flush Those Tissues

Allergies may be in full swing, but let’s make sure our sewer pipes keep flowing freely and place used facial tissue in the organics waste bin, NEVER down the toilet.



Facial tissue paper is not designed to dissolve quickly like toilet paper. It contains additives to make them stronger and more absorbent than typical toilet paper. Facial issue may appear thin and look like it can be easily flushed down the toilet, but it will cause clogged sewer lines. Please only flush toilet paper! 

Please only flush toilet paper!

Washing Your Car Without Polluting Local Waterways 

Most people would never intentionally throw buckets of dirty, soapy water in a river, pond or stream, but that’s effectively what happens when cars are washed in driveways and parking lots. Dirty wash water will run down the driveway and into drain inlets along streets and in parking lots which flow directly to local ponds, wetlands and waterways.

It’s more than just dirt and bird poop that’s being washed off your car. Automotive frames, paint, brakes and exhaust contain heavy metals, such as lead, zinc, iron oxide and asbestos. Wear and tear on tires and brakes contribute to microplastics. These materials can end up in the dirty wash water as cars are being cleaned. Soaps can contain phosphates, chlorine and other non-biodegradable ingredients that are toxic to fish and other aquatic life.

If your car is dirty, take it to a car wash facility where the rinse water is recycled and sent to the wastewater treatment plant for cleaning. 



If you wash your car at home, use a small amount of water. Use only soaps, cleaners, or detergents labeled "non-toxic", "phosphate free", or "biodegradable." Try to direct the dirty water to flow into your landscaping. You can also use a waterless carwash kit. More information on car washing.