Buck Wargo
CITY HALL -- State Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Glendale) is trying to get the
state to fast track a study on the effects of having chromium 6 in the
drinking water of Glendale, Burbank and other San Fernando Valley
residents.
Schiff introduced legislation Wednesday that called on the State
Department of Public Health to complete a study by January 2002 on
whether the level of chromium in drinking water taken from the San
Fernando Basin aquifer should be reduced. It also called on public water
systems to determine levels of chromium 6.
The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
proposed in 1998 to reduce the permitted levels of chromium to 2.5 parts
per billion in drinking water. The state now permits 50 parts per
billion, half the national standard of 100 parts per billion for drinking
water.
State health officials have said it could take up to five more years
to implement the 1998 proposal. The risks of chromium 6 in drinking water
are still being studied.
Chromium 6, or hexavalent chromium, a known carcinogen, makes up a
portion of the total. Cities currently test for levels of total chromium.
"I am concerned about the high levels of chromium 6 in the water
supply," Schiff said. "They are evidently higher than anticipated, and we
ought to have an accelerated study on whether this poses a health risk.
Five years is totally unacceptable."
The California Legislature adjourns at midnight Thursday and bill
supporters must move quickly or have to wait until the session returns in
January. The bill was heard in an Assembly committee Wednesday, and
Schiff said he is confident it can pass both houses in time.
Lea Brooks, a spokesman for the Department of Health Services, said
her office has not taken a position on the bill. The department continued
to draft regulations for monitoring chromium 6, she said.
"It is a very lengthy process," Brooks said. "A lot of steps need to
be taken. ... We don't know how big a problem it is yet. That is the
first step in the whole process."
The state Regional Water Quality Control Board announced last week it
was launching an investigation to identify companies responsible for
chromium contamination.
For the first time in 20 years, Glendale is preparing to take water
from the San Fernando basin. That will happen by the end of September.
Tests showed one of eight wells tests in February measured 61 parts per
billion of chromium.
City officials said the drinking water is about 6 to 7 parts per
billion of chromium once it is blended, with chromium 6 levels between 2
and 3 parts per billion, well below the state standard.
Well water from the Verdugo basin, where Glendale gets about 8% of its
supply, measures 7 parts per billion, said Don Froelich, the city's water
services administrator. Once water is blended, the levels are further
lowered, he said.
Froelich welcomed a speeded-up study when it comes to public health
concerns but questioned the need to trim the standard to 1/20 of its
current level.
"It would be hard to think the current health information relative to
chromium in the water is that far off," Froelich said.
If the standard were reduced that far, it could force the city to rely
more on water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
because treatment options would be more expensive, he said. That would
cause another problem because there is a limited water supply from the
Colorado River and Northern California, he said.
