Los Angeles Ca Water Quality Reports 2012
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L.A.’s Drinking Water Quality Report for the period of Jan 1 - Dec 31, 2012 A Tradition of Excellence Table of Contents Water Quality News & Updates Expanding Use of Chloramine 3 Safeguarding Surface Water 3 Disinfection Byproducts 4 Regulations Public Health Goals Report 5 Water Treatment Processes 5 Special Needs Population 5 Precautions City Water Sources 7 2012 Water Quality Monitoring 9 Results Contact Information 14 or over a century, LADWP water samples across the city, are well underway on the construction has carefully developed and and performed more than 240,000 of another project that will improve maintained a world-class water quality tests—not just for water reliability and quality – the Fwater system to serve the compliance, but also for research and Headworks Reservoir in the Griffith highest quality water at the lowest operational improvements. We tested Park area. This complex will consist possible cost to the City of Los Angeles. for more than 200 contaminants of two underground reservoirs with and constituents throughout the a combined capacity of 110 million In 2012, we supplied our 4 million year including both regulated gallons. Just as the Los Angeles customers with 200 billion gallons of contaminants, such as arsenic, Aqueduct has served the City for 100 treated water that met or surpassed chromium, lead, and disinfection years, investing in such large projects all drinking water standards. by-products, as well as constituents of will help ensure a high-quality, These standards are set by the U.S. interest such as sodium and hardness. reliable water system well into the Environmental Protection Agency Every day, LADWP employees work 21st century. (EPA) and the State of California diligently to ensure that you receive Department of Public Health (State the high-quality, low cost drinking Health) Drinking Water Program. water you’ve come to expect. This is James B. McDaniel our commitment to you. Senior Assistant General It’s no easy task to achieve such Manager - Water high quality water. Hundreds of In this time of increasing regulations employees and countless hours are and mandates, we continue to explore spent protecting our water sources, innovative new treatments and make managing state-of-the-art water progress on several large water treatment processes, maintaining and quality improvement projects in order Dr. Pankaj Parekh operating our facilities, and vigilantly to keep water quality at its highest. Director of Water Quality monitoring and testing the water we One such project, the ultra-violet serve. treatment facility at the L.A. Aqueduct Filtration Plant, is nearing completion To ensure the quality of the water to and will add an advanced level of your home, we collected over 25,000 protection to your drinking water. We 2 | 2012 Drinking Water Quality Report Water Quality News & Updates Expanding Use of late 2012. The remainder of West Chloramine Los Angeles will see improvements Improving water quality is a continuous by late spring 2013. process. In our ongoing effort to reduce the level of disinfection byproducts Customers in the Harbor, Eastern while ensuring microbial safety of the Los Angeles and the Sunland-Tujunga drinking water, we are methodically areas of the city have received expanding the use of monochloramine chloraminated water for several (chloramine) to provide the necessary years and they shared that they are protection to the water as it travels very satisfied. Los Angeles will join through miles of pipe to reach your tap. other cities in southern California— While both chlorine and chloramine are over 19 million people—currently effective at killing bacteria and other receiving chloraminated water from microorganisms, chloramine lasts the Metropolitan Water District of longer, forms fewer byproducts and no Southern California. chlorine odor. Our use of chloramine will also make it possible to exchange Since chlorine and chloramine are water with neighboring cities such as different chemicals, adjustments to Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Culver certain types of special water uses City, and Inglewood that have been by a small portion of our customers, using chloramine for decades. need to be made. Operators of kidney dialysis machines know to monitor A new drinking water regulation that their equipment more frequently further reduces the allowable level for both “free” and “total” chlorine, of disinfection byproducts took effect as recommended by the Southern in April 2012. To comply with the new California Renal Disease Council. If regulation additional time is needed you maintain a fish pond, tank, or Lower Stone Canyon, Encino, and to complete construction of critical aquarium, you must provide adequate Upper and Lower Hollywood. We facilities before a complete change to treatment to remove both chlorine and successfully met the compliance chloramine can occur. LADWP received chloramine, as both disinfectants are deadlines and treatment requirements a time extension from the California toxic to fish. for all four open reservoirs that were Department of Public Health (State subject to the SWTR. Upper and Health) that allows us to complete Water quality improvements to Lower Hollywood Reservoirs were the necessary construction projects convert the entire city to chloramine successfully removed in July 2001 while remaining in compliance. While are expected to be completed by and replaced with two 30 million most of the distribution system meets early 2014. Meanwhile, all LADWP gallon buried tanks. New facilities to the new compliance requirements, customers should expect to receive treat and serve water from Encino there are some areas that may not, on either type of disinfectant in the Reservoir were completed in January a consistent basis, without the use of water at any time. For updates on 2006 and from Lower Stone Canyon chloramine. To obtain the extension, chloramine expansion please visit Reservoir in September 2008. The we demonstrated to State Health that www.ladwp.com/waterquality, or call latest update to the SWTR is the Long compliance with the new requirement 1-800-DIAL DWP. Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water is achievable within two additional Treatment Rule (LT2). This rule, as years and that further public health Safeguarding Our Drinking applied to Los Angeles, requires protection from waterborne diseases Water LADWP to remove from service caused by microorganisms such as The Surface Water Treatment Rule the remaining six uncovered Cryptosporidium and viruses will be (SWTR), administered by State Health, distribution reservoirs according provided. For more information on the is a drinking water regulation that to a state-approved schedule new disinfection byproducts regulation, safeguards open reservoir supplies memorialized through a compliance please turn to page 4 of this report. from microbiological contamination agreement entered into between that may occur when rain runoff from LADWP and State Health. The six Customers in the Pacific Palisades nearby hillsides and slopes enters reservoirs are Los Angeles, Upper and Brentwood neighborhoods began the water. In Los Angeles, the SWTR Stone Canyon, Santa Ynez, Ivanhoe, receiving chloraminated water in applied to four open water reservoirs– Silver Lake, and Elysian Reservoirs. 2012 Drinking Water Quality Report | 3 removes Cryptosporidium, the most commonly used filtration methods cannot guarantee 100 percent removal. Our monitoring indicates the presence of these organisms in our source water and finished water. Current test methods do not allow us to determine if the organisms are dead or if they are capable of causing disease. Ingestion of Cryptosporidium may cause cryptosporidiosis, an abdominal infection. Symptoms of infection include nausea, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. Most healthy individuals can overcome the disease within a few weeks. However, immunocompromised persons are at greater risk of developing life threatening illness. We encourage immunocompromised individuals to consult their doctor regarding appropriate precautions to take to avoid Encino Reservior infection. Cryptosporidium must be ingested to cause disease, and it may be spread through means other than We are working diligently to bring all out of service November 2014. drinking water.” reservoirs into compliance as quickly Headworks Reservoir will replace as possible and according to the State the storage capacity lost when Disinfection Byproducts approved schedule. Ivanhoe Reservoir is removed from Regulations service. Headworks Reservoir is The latest requirement for disinfection Reservoir Status Update currently under construction. byproducts in drinking water is the • Santa Ynez Reservoir was removed Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection from service in November 2010 for • An ultraviolet treatment facility is Byproducts Rule (Stage 2) (http:// the installation of a floating cover, currently in development to disinfect water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/ and was placed back into service as a water leaving LA Reservoir. In sdwa/stage2/index.cfm) effective covered reservoir in May 2011. addition, LA Reservoir will have April 1, 2012. Stage 2 requires more shade balls installed starting in the stringent monitoring. All compliance • The Final Environmental Impact summer of 2013. monitoring locations must represent Report (EIR) for Elysian Reservoir the highest byproduct values in the city. Water Quality Improvement Project The estimated cost to modify the six If these locations meet the standards, was completed in September 2011.