Stuck on the wall by a drinking...

Stuck on the wall by a drinking fountain in the city’s utilities

building is a bumper sticker that says, “Just fill it up with tap.”

Water regulators swear by this sticker. The only differences

between the water flowing out of Surf City faucets and bottled water

such as Evian or Crystal Geyser are taste and price, city Utilities

Manager Howard Johnson said.

But just what is in the water that comes out of our taps and how

did it get there? The city recently released its annual consumer

confidence report, which briefly lists the sources of Surf City’s

drinking water and contaminants that were detected in 2003.

Trace levels of carcinogens such as arsenic, radon and

trihalomethanes are present in the city’s tap water, but at levels

that pose no danger to the public, local regulators say.

And with rigorous testing regulated by the Environmental

Protection Agency and the Department of Health Services, officials

maintain unbending confidence in the system’s integrity.

WHAT’S IN THE WATER

Huntington Beach’s water supply is routinely monitored for the

presence of drinking water contaminants.

Water regulators are required to test for 130 contaminants on a

regular basis to comply with state and federal standards. Wells are

sampled four times a year for radioactivity, trace metals, general

minerals, synthetic organic compounds -- such as herbicides,

pesticides and other man-made chemicals -- and volatile organic

compounds -- such as Trichloroethylene, a degreaser. They are also

sampled for gasoline-related constituents, such as methyl tertiary

butyl ether, a gasoline additive.

Samples are also collected from wells to test for seawater

intrusion and evaluate bacterial quality and aesthetics, such as

taste, color and odor.

Trace metals present in Huntington Beach’s drinking water include

arsenic, fluoride and copper; and general minerals such as calcium,

sodium, chloride, bicarbonate and magnesium.

Arsenic is a heavy metal that’s found in the earth and can enter

the water from natural deposits or from industrial or agricultural

pollution. While long-term exposure to high levels of arsenic has

been linked to bladder, lung and skin cancer, the levels found in

Surf City waters pose very little health threat, said Jim Corbett, a

water quality technician with the city.

The maximum contaminant level for arsenic is 50 parts per billion

and the highest amount detected in Surf City waters in 2003 was three

parts per billion.

“Drinking water regulations are so stringent,” Corbett said. “No

contaminants have been detected anywhere near the [maximum

contaminant level.]”

Calcium, sodium, chloride and magnesium are all abundant in the

earth’s crust and natural erosion can cause them to leach into the

water supply, he said.

Inorganic constituents are nonliving matter and include sulfate,

nitrite, nitrate and bromide, all of which have been found in

Huntington Beach water. These can come from fertilizer usage, natural

erosion or a leak in sewer lines, Corbett said.

Small amounts of copper can enter the drinking water when internal

plumbing systems corrode.

Uranium, radon and trihalomethane, which is linked to cancer at a

high level, have also been found at very low levels in Huntington

Beach waters. But levels are so low, Corbett said, there’s no cause

for worry.

“If you drink for 70 years, two liters a day, you have one chance

in a million of getting it,” he said. “That’s how strict it is.”

All regulated contaminants could pose a public health risk if

enough is present.

But the levels, which are mostly measured in parts per million and

parts per billion, are far too low to present any health risk,

Johnson said.

“One part per million equals 1 inch in 16 miles, one second of

time in 12 days and one penny in $10,000,” Johnson said. “One part

per billion is 1 inch in 16,000 miles, one penny in $16,000 and one

second in 32 years. That shows you how close we regulate and to what

extent they have now brought these regulations down. That’s quite a

standard to adhere to and that’s why we feel that drinking water is

as safe as it is.”

WHERE IT COMES FROM

Water that comes out of the tap in Huntington Beach comes from two

sources: groundwater pumped from the Santa Ana River basin and

surface water imported from the Metropolitan Water District of

Southern California. The city pulls 66% of its annual water intake

from underground wells and imports the remaining 34% from

Metropolitan.

The primary source of water in the groundwater basin comes from

the Santa Ana River. A portion of the Santa Ana River, which flows

from the San Bernardino Mountains, is diverted into the Prado

Wetlands, where it undergoes a natural treatment process to remove

nitrate. The treated water then flows into a recharge basin in

Anaheim. From there, water percolates through the porous earth and

flows into the underground basin.

The additional water comes from the Metropolitan Water District of

Southern California. Metropolitan imports water from the Colorado

River and Northern California. Water from the Colorado River is

brought via Metropolitan’s 242-mile Colorado River Aqueduct, which

crosses the Mojave Desert and travels through mountains, five pumping

plants and 92 miles of tunnels.

From there, it’s delivered to water agencies including Huntington

Beach.

Instead of mixing the two water sources, Johnson likes to keep the

city at either 100% imported water or 100% groundwater, as the two

sources are treated with different disinfectants, which can

counteract each other when blended. The city is currently using water

from Metropolitan.

WATER QUALITY TESTING

A 3-inch-thick file at the city’s utilities department contains

the results of a year’s worth of water quality tests. Each page lists

about 20 contaminants monitored in the city.

From 1999 to 2003, 7,600 samples were taken in Huntington Beach,

according to district officials.

The city’s goal is to be 100% compliant with testing to prevent

any unhealthy exposure to carcinogenic compounds. A maximum

contaminant level, or a legally enforceable drinking water standard,

has been set for most contaminants that are tested for.

“The city of Huntington Beach has never exceeded a [maximum

contaminant level],” Johnson said. “We’re very fortunate and we’re

very conscious of that. We run a very, very tight system.”

Water quality is mandated both by the Environmental Protection

Agency and the California Department of Health Services.

Officials from Metropolitan and the Orange County Water District

test their water independently. The city then does further sampling

to ensure that the water is free of bacteria and pollutants and safe

to drink.

“If you put everything together of everyone’s test, the water is

tested an average of every four seconds,” Johnson said.

Surf City’s imported water is treated either at Weymouth

Filtration Plant in La Verne, Calif., or the Diemer Filtration Plant

in Yorba Linda, said David Foust, an engineering technician at the

Metropolitan Water Department’s water quality section.

At the treatment plant, water is regulated intensively, Foust

said. Metropolitan monitors the water persistently at all stages in

the process; at its source, while undergoing treatment and once it

arrives in the distribution system.

“It’s as effective as technology allows,” Foust said.

Environmental specialists from the Orange County Water District

take several samples from each of 42 monitoring stations every three

months and analyze them in a lab to test for hundreds of

contaminants. Results are then submitted directly to the Department

of Health Services.

Groundwater is also tested at different points throughout the

system, said Greg Woodside, the planning and watershed management

director for the Orange County Water District. Water is tested in the

river, in the recharge basin and then repeatedly once it arrives in

the groundwater basin via both monitoring wells and drinking wells.

“We do monitor and regulate our system and it’s completely safe,”

Johnson said. “Feel free to drink it. People are always concerned

about security issues and so are we, and a tremendous amount of money

is spent [on ensuring water quality] and a tremendous amount of

time.”

BOTTLED: IS IT BETTER?

Bottled water companies wrap their product in labels depicting

snowy glaciers or crystal clear mountain springs.

But is it really safer? Some say no.

In 2003, Americans spent more than $8 billion to guzzle nearly

6.4-billion gallons of bottled water, according to a study performed

by the Beverage Marketing Corp., making it one of the most popular

U.S. beverages, second only to soft drinks.

Most bottled water is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug

Administration as a packaged food product, said Stephen Kay,

spokesman for the International Bottled Water Assn. Like tap water,

bottled water must also meet state drinking water standards.

“Bottled water is produced specifically, 100% for human

consumption and is therefore a food product, regulated as a food

product by the Food and Drug Administration,” Kay said.

The federal agency regulates not only the water, but everything it

comes in contact with, such as the bottle, the bottle cap and the cap

liner, he said.

But while the finished product has to be compliant with federal

and state standards, the processes by which those standards are

achieved are not monitored by the Food and Drug Administration, Kay

said.

This has led some to argue that standards for bottled water aren’t

as stringent as those for tap water.

“Bottled water doesn’t have to meet as strict of regulations as

often as tap water does,” Corbett said.

Kay says that’s simply not true.

“The law is the law and the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act does

indeed state very specifically that bottled water at a minimum must

be as stringent to public health as EPA standards,” Kay said.

So do people drink bottled water because they believe it’s safer

or because it tastes better?

Both, Kay said.

“I think what bottled water offers is consistency, good taste and

convenience and that is all brought about through stringent

regulations that bottlers have to follow,” he said.

Chlorine, used to disinfect tap water, can leave an aftertaste.

Most bottlers use ozonation, a form of supercharged oxygen and

ultraviolet light as the final disinfecting agent, which doesn’t

leave an aftertaste.

Still, Corbett thinks if people knew how safe the tap water was,

they’d save money and cut back on plastic waste.

“The tap water is every bit as good as bottled water,” Corbett

said. “The difference is you’ve got to pay a whole lot more [for

bottled water.] From a taste standpoint, some prefer the taste and

that’s fine.”

People can also opt to buy filters that improve taste and remove

constituents such as chlorine, calcium and magnesium.

“It conditions the water and removes the chlorine,” Corbett said.

It’s more affordable [than bottled water] and you’re not wasting all

that plastic.”

* JENNY MARDER covers City Hall. She can be reached at (714)

965-7173 or by e-mail at jenny.marder@latimes.com.