Water Quality in Fullerton, California
Households using municipal or rural water supplies can depend on their local water utility to follow Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines for maximum levels of contaminants. However, private well owners are not monitored by government agencies. This means the owner must take responsibility for the condition of the system, routine testing and costs and water treatment. Here in Fullerton, the city water system serves water to approximately 134,000 people through 31,000 residential, commercial and industrial service connections. Water pollution may not seem as important as our current drought crisis, but we encourage all households to learn about their water quality so that they can make an informed decision about why they may want to install a home drinking water system for added protection.
Fullerton is vigilant when it comes to safeguarding our water supply and last year’s report shows that the water delivered to your home meets the standards required by the state and federal regulatory agencies. Just as the Safe Drinking Water Act requires, the city monitors over 100 compounds in your water supply. While the local water quality report actually shows that this be the case, there are more contaminants in drinking water that are not regulated by either the EPA nor the city of Fullerton.
With this many people being served, water quality is a really important aspect of our community. Water quality is a lasting issue among many communities as well as the current drought crisis. It was confirmed that 2013 was the driest year on record in California, and as dry conditions continue, some regions throughout the state are being severely impacted. On January 17, 2014, Governor Jerry Brown declared a “drought emergency” and asked that all Californians “voluntarily reduce their water use by 20%.” With our drinking water systems, our advanced filtration technology can help you to reduce water waste and be more efficient overall. (As a side note, did you know that bottled water wastes a HUGE amount of water in the production of the bottles, filtration processes, and delivery?!)
A new topic at the forefront of consumer concerns seems to be the improper disposal of pharmaceuticals now finding their way into our water. We urge you not to flush your medications down the drain. Without a home water filter or an RO system, you may be finding your home’s water in more danger than in the past. Experts have predicted a decline in water quality in the coming years. According to a recent Water Quality Report on the city’s website, there were a number of regulated and non-regulated contaminated tested for. While no contaminants were over the maximum level allowed by the Safe Drinking Water Act, there are certainly levels of contaminants in the water that residents should be aware of such as traces of lead, copper in some households, fluoride, nitrates and selenium. Nitrates in drinking water are especially dangerous and the levels found in this report are higher than average.
Drinking water quality is important and every household deserves safe, healthy tap water. Even with regulated testing in our area, we are not free from contamination to say the least. There are too many identified pollutant sources like agriculture, urban storm runoff and municipal points – and who knows how many unidentified sources. More than 200 chemical contaminants have been documented in groundwater alone, most of the contaminants composed of pesticides, metals, nitrates, solvents, and other wastes. The health effects of even small traces of contaminants in drinking water deserve the added protection. It is time to install a water filter in your home – it will become your most useful and efficient household appliance after just one use.
