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Report Says Tap Water Safe, But 'Worrisome'
Water meets regulation, but still tainted by contaminants
Thursday, October 31, 2002
GIG CONAUGHTON
Staff Writer
A study released Wednesday said the quality of drinking water in the cities of San Diego and Los Angeles was "fair," safe by government standards but still tainted by contaminants that could pose health risks.
Local water officials had mixed reactions to the "What's on Tap" report, which was issued by the National Resources Defense Council, an environmental watchdog group.
The report, which defense council officials said was three years in the making, stated that San Diego tap water showed no violations of federally-mandated water-quality guidelines. But the report said the water still contained "worrisome" contaminants that could prove unhealthy for people, specifically infants, the elderly and the chronically ill.
For example, the report said the water still had "substantial levels of cancer-causing disinfectant byproducts" produced in the treatment process, and unhealthy traces of perchlorate, a chemical used to make rocket fuel.
The report details reviews of water quality in four California cities ---- Fresno, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego ---- and not the areas in the regions surrounding those cities.
But the report still applies to the rest of Los Angeles and San Diego counties because those regions rely upon one water wholesaler for their combined drinking-water supply, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
While San Diego and Los Angeles received "fair" grades from the defense council, San Francisco and Fresno's water quality was judged "poor" in the report.
Jonathan Kaplan of the defense council said the cities were graded on a five-level system; excellent, good, fair, poor and failing.
Here in San Diego County, the San Diego County Water Authority buys raw and treated water from Metropolitan ---- as much as 95 percent of all the water consumed annually by county residents ---- adds a delivery fee and sells it to 23 cities and water agencies countywide.
Water Authority spokesman John Liarakos said his agency had not had time to completely review the defense council's report; but that the water the agency delivers is safe.
"The report is too extensive for us to comment upon," Liarakos said, "but our statement is, 'the water we provide meets all state and federal drinking water requirements and standards.'"
Metropolitan spokesman Adan Ortega, meanwhile, said Metropolitan also believes the tap water it treats and sells is safe for people to drink.
Ortega said Metropolitan was retro-fitting some of its existing water-treatment plants with technologically-advanced ozone treatment processes that would produce cleaner water.
However, Ortega said that while water agencies are working to make sure water is cleaner than current government regulations, there is still a great deal of debate about whether those regulations are stringent enough.
Ortega said consumers must take information such as the defense council's study ---- along with the public information water agencies such as Metropolitan and the Water Authority make available for study ---- and weigh just how safe they want their water to be.
Ortega said although Metropolitan believes the tap water it produces is safe, the agencies surveys show that roughly 70 percent of the people it serves buy more-stringently-treated bottled water for drinking, rather than quenching their thirsts with tap water.
Defense council spokesman Jonathan Parfrey, meanwhile, said the California portion of the "What's on Tap?" report was actually released early, so that California voters could have the study's perspective before they vote next week on Proposition 50.
The second portion of the report, rating water in another 15 cities nationwide, will be released at a later date.
Proposition 50 will ask voters to approve selling $3.44 billion in bonds on various water projects, including $640 million specifically to upgrade water treatment and quality statewide. Parfrey said the defense council was not endorsing the proposition, but "as a public health agency, probably leaning toward its approval." Perchlorate, which Metropolitan officials say was discovered draining into one of its principal Colorado River reservoirs, Lake Mead, in 1997 from the Las Vegas Wash, is not currently policed by the federal government's water standards. Metropolitan officials say the federal government expects to have standards for the contaminant in the next few years.
However, Metropolitan officials say they have been working toward reducing perchlorate levels, which are not removed by traditional water treatment processes.
Parfrey said perchlorate, because it is not currently regulated is especially troubling. Perchlorate is known to disrupt thyroid activity, which regulates body growth and metabolism.
Ortega said consumers can read about the quality of Metropolitan's water supplies on its Web site at www.mwd.dst.ca.us.
Contact staff writer Gig Conaughton at (760) 739-6696 or gconaughton@nctimes.com
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