At first I had a really difficult time finding San Francisco's water report. Usually it can be found within 5 or 10 minutes by simply typing in "(city name) Water Quality Report" (or different variations) and it just wasn't coming up. After an hour of trying to find it, I literally had to call the governor's office, and the woman I spoke to there couldn't find it either. I ended up sending a note to Jerry Brown asking for this information to become a little easier to find. The woman on the phone directed me to an estuary site, which is the only place we could find a water quality report. I realized, the report she led me to is just a report for untreated SF bay Water, but I am including it HERE in case you are curious to see it.
I finally was able to find the correct water quality report for San Francisco Regional Water (which is now coming up with a search for "San Francisco Water Quality Report." You can see it HERE.
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When I first took a look at our water report(s) via EWG's database (2004-2009) for San Francisco Regional Water (which you can see HERE), I just kind of glanced over it and didn't bother to look up all the chemicals that were detected our drinking water. Mostly because a) I just didn't get around to it, and b) it looked decent enough to me (and my untrained eye). At least I wasn't looking at a sea of yellow and red dots indicating we are constantly over the health and legal limits, like you see in many L.A. water reports, and many others in Central and Northern California. And c) I have heard over and over again that our drinking water is GREAT. Just one sniff of heavily chlorinated water from a Las Vegas hotel bathroom makes it easy to believe SF must have the best water in the WORLD!
Yeah, I knew maybe I should look it up but... quite honestly, I preferred to go on believing that our water was perfectly fine. True, I was a little suspicious of the fact our report seemed to show only ONE test, that was done sometime in 2008. Why couldn't they provide testing for every year? Some water facilities test the water a dozen times per year. But I preferred to believe the reason we have "so few dots" on our report is because it's so good, they don't need to test it!
Well... it was a nice thought, anyway.
Finally, I started doing a little more research on what is in our water. Partly because I noticed a VERY strong chlorine smell in the "wastewater" container from my Antioxidant Water Machine. It has two hoses. One that makes filtered antioxidant water, and the other hose has the wastewater... meaning it's the water with the filtered contaminants in it.
I decided to start collecting this water and try to use it instead of waste it. I hate to waste water, especially since we're in a drought! But I noticed some of my plants really did not like it and their leaves started turning yellow when I'd dump the wastewater onto them. I decided, well if the plants don't like it, then maybe I can use it myself, like to wash my hands. So I filled a dispenser with it and kept it in the bathroom so I could just wash my hands with it, or use it to rinse the shower walls.
I noticed my hands feel very dry after I use it, and decided I'm going to have to just use it for something else (I wish there was a way to hook a wastewater hose up to the washing machine or toilet... that would be perfect!!!) Yes, I do realize, we need chlorine to keep the water clean and free of bacteria. But that doesn't mean it's safe to drink straight from the tap (which I used to do all the time). If you look up trihalomethanes (and the amounts that are in our water in the Bay Area) you will understand why I created this blog.
I decided to look up a few of the things that are on our water report. At first glance, our report (above) doesn't look bad at all, compared to, say... Modesto's, pictured below (no offense, Modesto). But I was also aware that... maybe ours only had the appearance of being OK because for whatever reason, only ONE TEST was even reported!!! At least Modesto revealed all their tests.... the good, the bad and the ugly. You can see the rest here.
MODESTO's water report (pictured only as a comparison to SF's report)
One thing I've learned recently is that there is a BIG difference between the CALIFORNIA EPA's SAFE LIMIT on toxins found in water, and the EPA's "Safe Limit." Sadly, the Federal EPA's safe limit is largely dictated by funding. They can only keep it so low, with the budget they have.
As an example, the California EPA has set a "recommended safe limit" for Hexavalent Chromium at 0.02 parts per billion (It doesn't sound like a lot but consider that the birth control Nuva Ring is effective at 0.035 parts per billion). The Federal EPA set the limit at 100 parts per billion (5,000 times what California says is safe enough to pose no health risk). The new proposed legal limit is 10 parts per billion (500 times higher than what California says it should be).
When you look at these charts you will notice there are two columns which show you whether the HEALTH LIMIT has been exceeded, or the LEGAL LIMIT has been exceeded. Please pay careful attention to the column showing the HEALTH LIMIT. Personally, I tend to ignore the "legal limit" since it is often WAY higher than what the California EPA says is safe. Really, people, California does not set these guidelines because they're bored and have nothing better to do. They do it because they're looking out for our health!
Dichloroacetic acid
| Dichloroacetic acid | Amount detected: 13 ppb 13 ppb | Yes (Health limit exceeded) Recommended Health limit: MCLG: 0 ppb |
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT THE "RECOMMENDED HEALTH LIMIT" FOR THIS TOXIN IS ZERO PARTS PER BILLION. MOST TOXINS HAVE AT LEAST A SMALL LEVEL THAT IS CONSIDERED SAFE BY THE CALIFORNIA EPA, IN TRACE AMOUNTS, BUT NOT THIS ONE. The Federal EPA's legal limit for this toxin is 60 PPB.
Status: Regulated - EPA has established a maximum legal limit in tapwater for this contaminant.
Dichloroacetic acid is a disinfection byproduct regulated by EPA as one of five haloacetic acids that are formed when chlorine, chloramines or other disinfectants react with organic and inorganic matter in water.
Health Concerns for Dichloroacetic acid:
- Cancer
- Neurotoxicity
- Developmental/reproductive toxicity
- Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
- Occupational hazards
- Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)
- Ecotoxicology
- Miscellaneous
- Persistence and bioaccumulation
Chloroform
| Chloroform | Amount detected: 25.46 ppb 25.46 ppb | Yes (Health limit exceeded) Recommended Health limit: 5.7 ppb |
Chloroform is a disinfection byproduct from the trihalomethane (THM) family, and is formed when chlorine, chloramines or other disinfectants react with organic and inorganic matter in water.
Chloroform
Chloroform is a carcinogenic pollutant that forms when disinfection agents such as chlorine and chloramine react with organic matter in drinking water sources and in wastewater treatment (Richardson 2007; International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) 2008b).
Chloroform pollution in the environment also comes from industry releases (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) 1997b). The paper industry accounts for nearly half of the 1.5 million lbs of chloroform released in 2002, followed by the chemical manufacturing and solvent recovery industries (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) 2009i)
In humans chloroform is known to cause nausea, vomiting, irregular heart beat, kidney damage, liver damage, dizziness, fatigue, drowsiness, insomnia, increased dreaming, impaired memory, and anorexia. In animals, chloroform is known to cause infertility, birth defects and cancer (ATSDR 1997b; Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) 2001b).
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Health Concerns for Chloroform:
- Cancer
- Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
- Multiple, additive exposure sources
- Persistence and bioaccumulation
- Occupational hazards
- Endocrine disruption
- Developmental/reproductive toxicity
- Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)
- Biochemical or cellular level changes
- Ecotoxicology
- Neurotoxicity
Bromodichloromethane
| Bromodichloromethane | Amount detected: 3.67 ppb 3.67 ppb | Yes (Health limit exceeded) Recommended Health limit:MCLG: 0 ppb |
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT THE "RECOMMENDED HEALTH LIMIT" FOR THIS TOXIN IS ZERO PARTS PER BILLION. MOST TOXINS HAVE AT LEAST A SMALL LEVEL THAT IS CONSIDERED SAFE BY THE CALIFORNIA EPA, IN TRACE AMOUNTS, BUT NOT THIS ONE. The Federal EPA's legal limit for this toxin is 80 PPB.
Status: Regulated - EPA has established a maximum legal limit in tapwater for this contaminant.
Bromodichloromethane is a disinfection byproduct from the trihalomethane (THM) family, and is formed when chlorine, chloramines or other disinfectants react with organic and inorganic matter in water.
Health Concerns for Bromodichloromethane:
According to this report's "health guidelines" we should not have ANY of this in our water. ZERO. The amount we have is 13 parts per billion. Which may not sound like much but keep in mind, Nuva Ring is active at 0.035 PPB.
Affected Organ Systems: Hepatic (Liver), Renal (Urinary System or Kidneys)
Cancer Classification: NTP: Reasonably Anticipated to be a Human Carcinogen
Dibromochloromethane
| Dibromochloromethane | Amount detected: 1.18 ppb 1.18 ppb | Yes (Health limit exceeded) Recommended Health limit:0.4 ppb |
Status: Regulated - EPA has established a maximum legal limit in tapwater for this contaminant.
Dibromochloromethane is a disinfection byproduct from the trihalomethane (THM) family, and is formed when chlorine, chloramines or other disinfectants react with organic and inorganic matter in water.
Health Concerns for Dibromochloromethane:
Chlorate
| Chlorate | Amount detected: 163 ppb 163 ppb | NO (Legal at any level) |
Keep in mind that even though Chlorate is "legal at any level," Chlorate is an herbicide and pollutant from explosives. Also keep in mind that until recently, the legal limit for hexavalent chromium (a known carcinogen) was 100 parts per billion (California's EPA says anything above 0.02 parts per billion could be a health risk).
This information is from the World Health Organization's document, "Chlorite and Chlorate in Drinking-Water."
Status: Unregulated - EPA has not established a maximum legal limit in tapwater for this contaminant.
Chlorate is a disinfection byproduct (unregulated chlorine dioxide byproduct), an herbicide and a pollutant from explosives.
Chlorate Like chlorite, the primary concern with chlorate is oxidative damage to red blood cells. Also like chlorite, 36 µg of chlorate per kg of body weight per day for 12 weeks did not result in any adverse effects in human volunteers (Lubbers et al., 1981). Although the database for chlorate is less extensive than that for chlorite, a recent well conducted 90-day study in rats is available, which identified a NOAEL of 30 mg/kg of body weight per day based on thyroid gland colloid depletion at the next higher dose of 100 mg/kg of body weight per day (McCauley et al., 1995). Application of an uncertainty factor of 1000 to this NOAEL (10 each for inter- and intraspecies variation and 10 for the short duration of the study) gives a TDI of 30 µg/kg of body weight. This TDI is also supported by the human volunteer studies. Using the TDI of 30 µg/kg of body weight, a typical human body weight of 60 kg, the assumption that drinking-water contributes 80% of the total exposure and a typical consumption of 2 litres of water per day, the provisional guideline value is calculated as 0.7 mg/litre (rounded figure). This guideline value is designated as provisional because use of chlorine dioxide as a disinfectant may result in the chlorate guideline value being exceeded, and difficulties in meeting the guideline value must never be a reason for compromising adequate disinfection. A long-term study is currently in progress that should provide more information on the effects of chronic exposure to chlorate.
fyi a Note from Ualani: µg means a microgram
My weight (125 pounds) is 56.699 kg. According to their 1981 study, if I had drank about 2041 micrograms of chlorate, per day, for 12 weeks, I would not have experienced any adverse affects (at least not immediately). I do trust the WHO, but because this was not a long term study and they do state that "the primary concern with chlorate is oxidative damage to red blood cells," I would rather not have it in my water!
Total haloacetic acids (HAAs)
Status: Regulated - EPA has established a maximum legal limit in tapwater for this contaminant.
Total haloacetic acids refers to the sum of the concentrations of five related disinfection byproducts in a water sample: dichloroacetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, monochloroacetic acid, monobromoacetic acid and dibromoacetic acid.
Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
Haloacetic acids (HAA5) are byproducts of chlorinated disinfectants added to drinking water to control pathogens. Five haloacetic acids are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), hence the acronym HAA5. The five regulated HAAs are monochloroacetic acid, dichloroacetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, monobromoacetic acid, and dibromoacetic acid. Haloacetic acids are formed when chlorine and other disinfectants react with organic matter found in source water. Surface water pollution with animal waste, sewage, fertilizer, algae and sediment results in greater quantities of haloacetic acids in drinking water (Environmental Working Group (EWG) 2002).
Two of the five HAAs regulated by EPA (dichloro- and trichloroacetic acid) have been shown to cause liver tumors in at least one type of laboratory animal (Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) 1996a, 1996b). Other HAAs, including those regulated by EPA, have been show to cause developmental defects in embryos grown outside the womb (whole embryo cell culture). Malformations included those of the neural tube, eye and heart (Hunter 1996). Haloacetic acids are genotoxic, which means that they induce mutations and DNA damage (Richardson 2007).
Long-term exposure to haloacetic acids in drinking water above the maximum contaminant level (MCL) set by EPA could increase the risk of cancer (USEPA 2009b).
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Trichloroacetic acid
| Trichloroacetic acid | Amount detected: 8.67 ppb 8.67 ppb | NO (Health limit not exceeded) 20 ppb |
Note from Ualani: I am posting this here, even though the "health limit" is not exceeded, because the data that has been provided for this contaminant represents just one test (in a 5 year period), so it's very likely that at different points, it may have been higher or lower (if you look at Modesto's chart you will see that regular testing can show varied results). The fact that it has been detected in the water is something you should be aware of.
Status: Regulated - EPA has established a maximum legal limit in tapwater for this contaminant.
Trichloroacetic acid is a disinfection byproduct regulated by EPA as one of five haloacetic acids that are formed when chlorine, chloramines or other disinfectants react with organic and inorganic matter in water.
Health Concerns for Trichloroacetic acid:
- Cancer
- Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
- Occupational hazards
- Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)
- Ecotoxicology
- Miscellaneous
- Persistence and bioaccumulation
I was able to find a water quality report for San Mateo and I think it should win some kind of award for the most confusing water report in the entire country. No WONDER even EWG didn't list more than one year!! You can see it HERE.
I got it from THIS SITE. I did email someone to ask them to please give me a copy of a water report (one that most people can understand, and locate easily).
Please tell your family, friends and neighbors to start filtering their water. If I seemed a little paranoid at the beginning of this post... I hope now you understand why.
Laura Ellen
