Vic Leipzig and Louann Murray
The city of Huntington Beach publishes an annual water quality report,
as they are required to do by law, and sends it to all residents who
receive a water bill. We think this is a good thing. Ron Davis doesn't.
Ron was so incensed about the report that he made it the subject of
one of his columns (Water Report leaves a bad taste, July 5). He said it
was boring, and he was right. It makes deadly dull reading. He also said
it was a bad idea. There he was wrong.
We believe that education is a good idea. An informed public is able
to make decisions more wisely. Our Huntington Beach water quality report
is an education in itself. Even giving it a quick skim is enough to get
across four important lessons.
First, this report tells us where our water comes from. Our drinking
water is a blend of surface water imported by the Metropolitan Water
District of Southern California, and groundwater pumped from the Santa
Ana River basin. We get our surface water from the Colorado River and the
San Francisco-San Joaquin Bay Delta. Our groundwater is recharged by
rainfall and by Santa Ana River water coming from Prado Dam. Decisions to
impound or release water from Prado Dam to manage Least Bell's Vireo
habitat can affect our drinking water supply. Water from Oroville Dam in
Northern California flows into the Sacramento River and we tap into that,
too. Decisions to impound, release, or allocate Colorado or Sacramento
River water also affects our drinking water supply.
Second, the report informs us about the list of potential contaminants
in our tap water. Our water might contain radioactive substances,
bacteria of various kinds, and dozens of chemicals both natural and
man-made. These chemicals might include pesticides, herbicides, salts,
heavy metals, petroleum byproducts or compounds that can cause cancer.
Yeah, we know the chemical names in the report are confusing and hard to
pronounce. Just think of them as methyl-ethyl-bad-stuff.
All of the compounds listed in the report are possible problems in a
drinking water supply. A reader might surmise (correctly) that all of
these substances actually do cause trouble in one part of the country or
another. This report shows whether or not these nasty things occur in our
water, and if so, how much. That's where the third point, the good news,
comes in.
This report shows that in Huntington Beach, our water passes each test
with flying colors. Ron is certainly right when he said that the water
