Modesto donates water for National Guard members at Super Bowl

Modesto is playing its part in Sunday’s Super Bowl 50 by donating the water that is cooking the food, quenching the thirst and keeping clean the roughly 450 California National Guard members providing security at the big game in Santa Clara.

Modesto resident and California National Guard Sgt. Joel Campos said it was easier to get water from Modesto than deal with the red tape in Santa Clara. He said when he asked Modesto’s Utilities Department, he got an answer in half an hour. (He said when he called Santa Clara, he was asked to fill out a form and no one called him back.) Three California National Guard water tankers picked up 5,400 gallons of Modesto water Jan. 27 from a city fire hydrant.

The Guard members have been in Santa Clara since Jan. 28 and will leave Monday. Campos said the water is being used for drinking, mobile showers, a mobile kitchen and other purposes.

The city said its donation cost $10. That’s based on the same rate Modesto charges its customers for water. Monthly water bills include the city’s cost of operating and maintaining its water system.

As much as he’d like to, Campos won’t be at the big game. His wife, Jazmine, who also is a California National Guard sergeant, is expected to give birth Sunday to their first child, a girl they will name Rhema Rose.

This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 1:10 PM with the headline "Modesto donates water for National Guard members at Super Bowl."