Council to Receive Water Quality Report at Next Meeting

According to a report scheduled to go to the City Council in December, the City’s tap water has met all of the enforceable drinking water quality standards set by the state and federal environmental protection agencies. 

The City Council is scheduled on Dec. 5 to hold a public hearing on the City’s 2022 Public Health Goals Report on Water Quality. 

“Although the City’s water meets or surpasses state and federal regulatory requirements for continued delivery of high quality drinking water, PWP publishes PHG Reports and Consumer Confidence Reports,” according to a city staff report. 

Every three years, community water utilities like Pasadena Water and Power are required by the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) to prepare a PHG Report. 

The report describes the occurrence of constituents present in its treated water that have concentrations greater than the PHG levels established by CalEPA and the Maximum Contaminant Level Goals established by the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA.

“These goals are the level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health,” according to a city staff report. “It should be noted that PHGs and MCLGs are not enforceable standards and often, it is not possible to remove or reduce constituents to the level of PHGs and MCLGs, as it may be technologically impossible or the cost would make tap water unaffordable.”

PWP distributed the report to its customers as mandated by state and federal law, using mail notification as a utility bill insert and posting the CCR in numerous public places and via social media channels. 

“USEPA and CalEPA cooperate to protect drinking water quality and to set enforceable Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL), according to the staff report. “The enforceable MCL limits are established with consideration of health, economic, and operational impacts. PWP routinely tests for MCL compliance and summarizes the results in an annual CCR. The City’s water continues to meet all MCLs.”