SCV Water continues its commitment to restoring groundwater affected by per- and polyfluoroalkyl, or PFAS, chemicals, and was recently given access to new lab equipment to better assist in that effort.

Recently, the Agency installed a Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometer to allow its team to test for PFAS in-house instead of sending to an outside lab – saving time and money.

“Our customers continue to be our top priority,” said General Manager Matt Stone. “By taking quick action, we were able to develop PFAS treatment facilities and equip our onsite lab for in-house testing. These steps will benefit our long-term water supply, so we can provide safe, high-quality water to thousands of Santa Clarita Valley residents.”

Previously, samples were sent to an outside lab. The new lab equipment will supply SCV Water with water quality testing results up to 1- 2 weeks faster than sending tests to an outside lab. And in just over a year, SCV Water will see a return on investment of its total equipment cost of $500,000.

SCV Water is also one of only three water agencies in California – and 25 labs nationwide – to be certified by California’s Environmental Lab Accreditation Program for PFAS testing. The SCV Water team continues to make progress on other projects to combat PFAS in the valley’s water supply.

The Agency took less than a year to construct its first PFAS water treatment facility, restoring groundwater affected by PFAS to an equivalent of about 5,000 households annually. It is one of the first operational PFAS treatment plants in California – and the very first to use the ion exchange (IX) resin.

In addition, the Agency is under construction on the next treatment facility at its Valley Center Well, located just west of Golden Valley Road and bordering the Santa Clara River. Once this groundwater well is restored it will produce up to 1,200 gallons per minute on average, which will
serve up to 1,000 families annually. Additional groundwater treatment projects that are expected to be online within the next year will restore water supplies equivalent to use by another 3,000 families.

“We’re here for our customers, and we’ll continue to look for new ways to restore the water quality in the Santa Clarita Valley,” said SCV Water’s Director of Operations and Maintenance Mike Alvord. “These projects will help us treat and bring wells that are temporarily out of service due to PFAS back online and provide additional local water to our community during this historic drought.”

PFAS are a group of manmade chemicals that are prevalent in the environment and were commonly used in industrial and consumer products to repel grease, moisture, oil, water and stains. Water agencies do not put these chemicals into the water, but over time very small amounts
enter the water supplies through manufacturing, wastewater discharge and product use. Exposure to these chemicals may cause adverse health effects.