Water Quality

Glendale's water was well within statelimits for contaminants in 2011, but recent tests turned up a pollutant not detected in 2010, according to the city's water quality report released this week. “Everything's pretty consistent with what we've reported in the past,” said Dan Askenaizer, water quality manager for Glendale Water & Power. “Everything's in compliance.” But in 2011, Methyl Tertiary-butyl Ether, a chemical additive once used in gasoline, was found in north Glendale wells.

A man impersonating a Glendale Water & Power employee stole about $6,000 in cash and jewelry Wednesday from an East Glendale home, officials said. The man knocked on the home's front door at about 2:30 p.m. on the 1400 block of East Wilson Avenue. Under the guise of checking on water quality, the man told the homeowner that he was a Glendale Water and Power employee and had to check the faucets in the kitchen and bathroom, according to Glendale police reports. “We have seen this [scam]

Recently, a local mother wrote to this paper about Adam Schiff's actions regarding chromium 6 in our drinking water. This writer blindly followed what Schiff said, and didn't look deeper in to his legislative proposals. That is a disservice to this community. The cities of Los Angeles, Glendale and Burbank all have agencies investigating this problem and monitoring our water quality. The federal and state government both have multiple agencies overseeing water quality testing.

CITY HALL — The city’s tap water now contains more than triple the amount of fluoride since it was folded into a statewide fluoridation project in late 2007, according to Glendale Water & Power’s latest annual water quality report released this week. The higher levels of tooth decay-fighting fluoride in the 2008 annual report, mailed out to customers earlier this week, reflects the full effect of the fluoridation since it began, officials said. State health officials mandated more of the naturally occurring compound in all public drinking water supplies in an effort to increase dental health.

Regarding the Aug. 21 letter by Bruce Gibson, “Water district not exactly conserving,” he wrote that he observed Crescenta Valley Water District servicemen flushing the water main at a fire hydrant near his home. Your first thought may be that we are ignoring our own philosophy of conserving water. However, it is necessary to flush water mains in the system, particularly ones that are not “looped” or connected in such a way that water continually flows through these pipes.

During the July 25 board meeting, the CVWD Board of Directors voted to support Proposition 84, a $5.4 billion water and resources bond initiative on the November ballot. If approved by voters, Proposition 84, known formally as the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006, would provide $5.4 billion in funding for a wide range of water and resource related programs and projects throughout the state. It also would provide funding for local water agencies to carry out critical programs that will benefit all California water users, including $525 million for projects to ensure safe drinking water and improve water quality around the state.

The City Council on Tuesday will consider opening the bidding process for the painting of nearly 800 street lights in the next three years. The cost of the project is estimated at close to $200,000 per year. WHAT TO EXPECT The council will likely approve going to bid as the funds have already been allocated in the city’s budget.   Glendale Water & Power award The City Council will receive a report on Glendale Water & Power’s receipt of the Assn.

Newport Beach has hired Orange County Coastkeeper to find out how much copper and other heavy metals may be lingering in the waters near Newport's marinas -- work that could lead to restrictions on the paint most boaters use. "We will definitely start sampling in September," Coastkeeper program director Ray Hiemstra said. Coastkeeper is still designing plans to sample waters and sediments around six to eight local marinas. The city subcontracted the work to Coastkeeper after making a deal with the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board to look for copper and other heavy metals in the harbor, said assistant city manager Dave Kiff.

Robert Chacon The city's tap water has gotten a clean bill of health, according to Glendale Water and Power's annual water quality report released Wednesday. Contaminants that were detected in the water, including aluminum, chromium, arsenic and sulfates, were detected at levels lower than those considered harmful by state and federal agencies. Water was tested at four sites that produce Glendale's drinking water: Glendale Water Treatment Plant, Glorietta Wells, Verdugo Park Water Treatment Plant and the Metropolitan Water District's plant in La Verne.

Mayor Elizabeth Pearson claims that because of Laguna's beaches, we have fiscal expenses that many other cities don't have. Let's be accurate as to the general structure of this budget. First of all, many of our beaches are under county jurisdiction, which means the city doesn't pay anything for their lifeguards and other services. All of South Laguna can be included in this category. Laguna is not the only city to have unique expenses. Anaheim has Disneyland.

Glendale's water was well within statelimits for contaminants in 2011, but recent tests turned up a pollutant not detected in 2010, according to the city's water quality report released this week. “Everything's pretty consistent with what we've reported in the past,” said Dan Askenaizer, water quality manager for Glendale Water & Power. “Everything's in compliance.” But in 2011, Methyl Tertiary-butyl Ether, a chemical additive once used in gasoline, was found in north Glendale wells.

A man impersonating a Glendale Water & Power employee stole about $6,000 in cash and jewelry Wednesday from an East Glendale home, officials said. The man knocked on the home's front door at about 2:30 p.m. on the 1400 block of East Wilson Avenue. Under the guise of checking on water quality, the man told the homeowner that he was a Glendale Water and Power employee and had to check the faucets in the kitchen and bathroom, according to Glendale police reports. “We have seen this [scam]

Verdugo Hills Golf Course, threatened for years by residential development, could be saved if funds from a Los Angeles clean-water bond are used to construct a stormwater treatment facility on the site, officials said. Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Krekorian, who is proposing the idea, told a group of about 60 people during a meeting of the Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council's land-use committee earlier this week that if signed off on by his colleagues, about $20 million in Proposition O funds would be allocated to the project.

CITY HALL — Stalled reimbursements for a multi-million dollar chromium 6 removal project could lead Glendale Water & Power officials to suspend the operation, they said. Because the chromium-stripping facilities have been turned on, levels of the cancer-causing element in water drawn through local wells have edged down, officials said. Still, utility officials say they are considering halting the $5-million multi-jurisdictional facility until the California Department of Water Resources makes good its $2.5-million pledge.

Street lights The City Council on Tuesday approved opening the bidding process for the painting of nearly 800 street lights in the next three year. WHAT IT MEANS The cost of the project is estimated at close to $200,000 per year. The funds have already been allocated in the city?s budget. ? Glendale Water & Power award The City Council received a report on Glendale Water & Power?s receipt of the Assn. of Metropolitan Water Districts Gold Award for exceptional utility performance.

Regarding the Aug. 21 letter by Bruce Gibson, “Water district not exactly conserving,” he wrote that he observed Crescenta Valley Water District servicemen flushing the water main at a fire hydrant near his home. Your first thought may be that we are ignoring our own philosophy of conserving water. However, it is necessary to flush water mains in the system, particularly ones that are not “looped” or connected in such a way that water continually flows through these pipes.

CITY HALL — The city’s tap water now contains more than triple the amount of fluoride since it was folded into a statewide fluoridation project in late 2007, according to Glendale Water & Power’s latest annual water quality report released this week. The higher levels of tooth decay-fighting fluoride in the 2008 annual report, mailed out to customers earlier this week, reflects the full effect of the fluoridation since it began, officials said. State health officials mandated more of the naturally occurring compound in all public drinking water supplies in an effort to increase dental health.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — A row of four mature eucalyptus trees at Glorietta Park will be removed Monday after years of unsuccessful attempts to keep their roots from damaging the city’s second-largest underground concrete reservoir, city water officials said. Roots from the trees — which line the east side of a softball field along Verdugo Avenue — have slithered into tiny openings in the reservoir’s wall-to-ceiling joint, expanding to create cracks that have compromised the assured quality of the water inside, said Pat Hayes, principal water engineer for Glendale Water & Power.

Time for residents to be the ?experts? The Los Angeles City Planning Department has just sent out their notice of preparation letter to a select group of individuals regarding the Verdugo Hills Golf Course, (?Golf course in county?s plans,? Monday). What this means is that the process of drafting an Environmental Impact Report has begun. MWH Development wants to develop the golf course into 229 housing units, forever removing the recreational jewel from our valley.