Investigators Find High Levels of Uranium in California Drinking Water
An investigation by the Orange County Register found that the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Southern California's largest water supplier, failed to report that uranium levels in the Hayfield Groundwater Storage Program exceeded EPA safety limits. The investigation also found other toxic chemicals in the water.
Tests conducted in 2000 at the Hayfield drinking water storage project showed uranium contamination between 16 picocuries and 35 picocuries per liter. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limit for uranium in drinking water is 20 picocuries per liter. The Hayfield level is 2 to 20 times higher than uranium levels reported by the five largest drinking water suppliers in Orange County. The Orange County Register reports that Metropolitan Water District officials proceeded with the drinking water project without notifying some officials of the findings of the water tests.
District General Manager Jeff Kightlinger disagrees with some of the conclusions reached by the newspaper. He said that notice about the drinking water testing was given to the authorities who needed to know. "It was never communicated as a show stopper because we didn't believe it was," said Kightlinger.
The water district says it plans to deliver safe drinking water from the Hayfield water by diluting it with Colorado River water to lower the concentration of uranium to an acceptable level. In addition, the 2000 water test was conducted on untreated water. Water treatment would lower the uranium concentration even further before it is delivered to the public.
The amounts of uranium found in the water tests is not radioactive, but it is a dangerous heavy metal that is toxic to the kidneys and, at high doses, can kill the tissues surrounding organs.
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