Pasadena Water and Power Reports on Public Health Goals

It’s important to know the quality of your water. To that end Pasadena Water and Power released a report on Public Health Goals and water quality to the City Council’s Municipal Services Committee last week.

The PHG Report explains how contaminants could possibly enter Pasadena’s water supply, 55 percent of which comes from imported water supplied by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and the rest coming from local groundwater resources. It also details how the City maintains 18 groundwater wells, of which three are considered “inactive” by the drinking water program and two are “standby” groundwater sources.

Water from wells that are operational and impacted by a contaminant are either blended or treated to ensure the water does not exceed a Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The PHG report lists a number of possible contaminants, including chemicals and minerals that could endanger the safety of the water and water consumers, as well as Gross Alpha, a measure of different radioactive substances that naturally occur in well water as radioactive elements decay or break down.

The conclusion of the report says the city’s drinking water meets all California State Water Resources Control Board – Division of Drinking Water and U.S. EPA drinking water standards. PWP therefore says further reducing the minimal constituents found in drinking water would be costly to the city and it would not recommend any further action on the PHG report.

At the presentation, PWP recommended that the City Council conduct a public hearing on the 2016 Public Health Goals, receive public testimony, and finally accept and approve the PHG report.

PWP as a community water system is required by the California Environmental Protection Agency to prepare a PHG report every three years on the occurrence of chemicals present in its treated water that have concentrations greater than the enforceable limits. The report also includes types of public health risks, treatment methods, and the estimated cost to implement such treatments.

Additionally, the public must be given an opportunity to review and comment on the PHG Report, and the City Council must accept and approve the report.