Name of business: Nature’s Water

Type of business: Filtered and purified water supplier

Location: 1560 Geer Rd. Suite A, Turlock

Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday

Contact: (209) 250-7789

History of business:

Radni Ghafoori has owned Nature’s Water, a water supply business in Turlock, for over 20 years. He is a man who tends to keep up with local happenings, and when he noticed that some community members were voicing their displeasure with the City of Turlock’s recent decision to add chlorine to the tap water, he figured he’d step forward.

“Some people aren’t quite happy with the chlorine being added,” he said. “So if there is a problem being talked about, why don’t we talk about solutions?”

The solution that Ghafoori puts forward is a 28-step water purification machine, offering water that he described as being 99.9% free of any harmful minerals.

“This is the cleanest water you can get in the area, I can fully guarantee it,” Ghafoori said.

While there are water vending machines across town, Ghafoori believes that they only have to filter water down to 40% minerals. Additionally, he is convinced through testing the water himself that the filters at the machines aren’t changed enough.

“A lot of people don’t think about their water when they buy it or drink it, and it’s because it’s just water. You think it’s all the same, but it’s not,” he said. “You can’t always taste the different minerals in your water, and sometimes with cleaner water like mine you can taste a difference. And if you don’t realize the difference, the minerals entering your body can add up and be harmful. Even when you go to Costco and buy bottled water and it says it’s from a lake or a glacier, that’s not true… Also, the minerals from the plastic break down and enter into your water the more it sits there and the warmer it gets.”

The City of Turlock began chlorinating the municipal water system on May 17 as a way to prevent growth of harmful bacteria and viruses in order to be consistent with State of California mandates for clean water. According to the California State Water Resources Control Board and the Environmental Working Group – a non-profit organization specializing in research and advocacy in the areas of agricultural subsidies, toxic chemicals and drinking water pollutants – eight different contaminants were detected in the city’s water in 2021, including arsenic, nitrate, chromium and uranium.

In regard to the chlorine in Turlock’s water, the City claimed in a press release that there are no health risks associated with chlorinated water, though they immediately proceeded to state that chlorinated water cannot be used for dialysis machines and could harm aquatic animals and pets. Not stated was the fact that excessive exposure to chlorine can cause irritation and allergies, and that drinking chlorinated water can cause serious bladder and rectal issues down the line.

Outside of the Nature’s Water storefront, Ghafoori has his own machine that is open to the public 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. During regular operational hours from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, customers can walk into the shop and grab water from the faucet directly connected to the large water purification machine.

“A lot of people don’t know that they can be getting better water or that we are even here in the center of Turlock, and with so many people upset about the chlorine, I invite them to come on over and give us a try.”