Water Treatment and Water Quality

By Ronald P. "Ron" Flores

California's Unsafe Tap Water

The report by the NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL, titled, "What's on Tap", conculuded that antiquated water works and pollution are combining to affect the qualtiy of drinking water resident receive in many cities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Though many urban residents can drink tap water without serious threats to their health, the study concluded that some contaminants still possess a risk especially to infants, pregnant women and people with AIDS or other immune system deficiencies.

Los Angeles receives generally fair marks in the report, though it citied noteworthy amounts of arsenic and by products of disinfectants in the water supply, among other chemicals. The amounts were all within federal standards.

San Diego got a similar grade, though the study noted that in some areas the chemical perchlorate was present in levels higher than a new state standard for government action. San Francisco received a more critical assessment, which noted that city water does not meet a new standard for by products of disfection known as trihalomethanes that have been linked to cancer. The city has obtained an extenstion to meet the standards.

Some interesting facts on city drinking water:

• There are 35,000 pesticides containing 600 chemical compounds, yet municipal water systems are only required to test for 6. Many of these chemicals are known to cause birth defects, nerve damage, sterility and cancer.
• THE GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE reports that 20% of the nations 65,000 community sytems are unable to meet minimun standards set by the Safe Drinking Water Act.
• More than 700 organic chemicals have been identified in drinking water, and some of them are suspected cancer causing agents.
• A recent government study found that more than 25% of all large U.S. public water systems do not test for the carcinogens and other dangerous chemicals that are being found.