Illegal levels of arsenic found in drinking water for some 55,000 Californians

According to the nonprofit advocacy organization, Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), more than 55,000 California residents are receiving public water that contains unsafe levels of arsenic. Arsenic occurs naturally in the soil and groundwater in some parts of California.

A new report, “Arsenic in California Drinking Water” from EIP suggests that the state should warn people to avoid drinking water that fails arsenic health limits. The report also recommends that Congress and California lawmakers should invest more money in upgrading drinking water infrastructures.

The problem is found in many communities across the state but the problem is more prevalent in low-income, mostly Latino communities in the San Joaquin Valley. From 2011 through 2015, 58 residential communities in California exceeded the legal limit for arsenic. This included 13 school districts, 12 mobile home parks, a military base, three wineries, two campgrounds and two food preparation businesses. Some 95 water systems, statewide, have average arsenic level in excess of 10 parts per billion, which is above the federal maximum contaminant level.

Valley Teen Ranch in Madera County has been reported to have the highest levels of arsenic in their drinking water in the state. The home for troubled adolescents houses about 50 boys and has arsenic concentrations averaging more than 12 times the federal limit of 10 parts per billion (ppb).

According to the World Health Organization, drinking arsenic-rich water over a long period results in various health effects including skin problems (such as color changes on the skin, and hard patches on the palms and soles of the feet), skin cancer, cancers of the bladder, kidney and lung, and diseases of the blood vessels of the legs and feet. Other health risks can include cardiovascular disease and prolonged exposure may also impair the developing brains of children.

EIP’s report claims that California’s public water system notify customers when the water fails to specific limits for arsenic, a well-known carcinogen. But the state also implies that the very same water is safe to drink. Utilities companies have mailed notices to their customers claiming: “You do not need to use an alternative water supply (meaning bottled water.)

However, private well owners – who aren’t covered by federal law – have received a significantly more pointed note from the state to not drinking arsenic-contaminated water. Their notices read: “If you suspect that your well may have arsenic, you should not use the water until it is tested, and you take appropriate measures to protect yourself and your family from potential chronic health effects if arsenic is present.”

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent the state of California a notice of noncompliance in 2013 over its failure to invest enough money in its drinking water systems to remove various pollutants including arsenic. Since then the state has invested more than twice the amount of its previous funding to build new water treatment facilities, pipelines and new wells.

The trickle-down effect has also seen the state and some counties have urged local utilizes to upgrade their systems by filing compliance orders. Smaller water systems, who are often underfunded, have been urged to merge with nearby, larger utilizes. These measures, along with the state’s doubling of funds for new facilities, allowed the EPA to announce in May that California was once again in compliance with federal Safe Drinking Water Act.

But the work is not yet done according to EIP. Nearly 56,00 in the state still have illegal levels of arsenic in their drinking water.

“Although California has made progress addressing its drinking water problems, both the state and federal governments still need to invest more funding in improvements to water filtration systems so that everyone has an equal access to clean drinking water,” said Eric Schaeffer, executive director of the EIP and former director of civil enforcement at EPA. “Safe drinking water should be a right for all people, no matter where they live or what their income.”