Some Local Drinking Water Comes From Contaminated Sources, Report Finds

Local drinking water is coming from contaminated groundwater sources, a report out from the State Water Resources Control Board shows.

According to the January 2013 report to the state legislature, Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, Farm Mutual Water, Ortega Oaks RV Park & Campground, and County Water of Riverside all relied on contaminated groundwater sources between the years 2002 and 2012.

The agencies are among 680 statewide cited in the report.

According to the report, five of EVMWD’s 10 system wells were contaminated with arsenic, County Water of Riverside’s one well was contaminated with nitrates, one of Ortega Oaks RV Parks & Campground's two system wells was contaminated with arsenic, and the Farm Mutual’s one well was contaminated with arsenic.

Wildomar-based County Water of Riverside has repeatedly been cited by officials in recent months.

Despite the findings, the report emphasizes that according to the California Department of Public Health, 98 percent of Californians on public supply systems are receiving safe water.

“Although many water suppliers draw from contaminated groundwater sources, most suppliers are able to treat the water or blend it with cleaner supplies before serving it to the public. Consequently, when this report refers to communities that rely on contaminated groundwater, it is referring to community public water systems that draw water from one or more contaminated groundwater wells prior to any treatment or blending,” the report reads.

Many groundwater basins throughout California are contaminated with either naturally occurring or human-caused pollutants, or both, the report indicates. As a result, many community water systems in the state incur significant costs to remove the contaminants from the groundwater before serving it to their customers as drinking water, according to the report.

“Some community water systems, however, cannot afford treatment or lack alternative water sources, and have served water that exceeds a public drinking water standard,” the report continues.

According to the 2011 Annual Compliance Report compiled by the California Department of Public Health (the most recent available), among the local violators were Ortega Oaks RV Park & Campground, which was cited for nitrates, arsenic and uranium in its water system; the Elsinore Hills RV Park and the Lookout Roadhouse were both cited for nitrates in their systems; County Water of Riverside was cited for nitrates; and the El Potrero Girl Scout Camp located off SR 74 was cited for nitrates and arsenic.