After testing water at 15 local wells, the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency has removed one well from service that tested positive for PFAS chemicals, the water agency announced Thursday.
In May 2019, as part of its quarterly sampling required by the State Water Resources Control Board – Division of Drinking Water, SCV Water sampled 15 wells for PFAS chemicals.
Of the wells tested, eight were above the interim notification levels set by DDW. One exceeded the response level and was immediately removed from service.
“We are taking immediate steps to address the detected levels of these substances in our groundwater source,” said Matt Stone, SCV Water general manager. “Based on interim guidance from the State, we have removed one well from service. We have convened a ‘strike team’ of key staff and outside experts to assess treatment and other strategies that we can put in place.”
Initial goals of the strike team include formulating a sampling plan for all agency wells currently in service as well as investigating potential treatment options and placement.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is a group of man-made chemicals that are heat-resistant, almost indestructible, and are used to repel oil and water. They were widely manufactured in the U.S. between 1950 and 2015, and are primarily used in industrial and consumer products to repel grease, moisture, oil, water and stains.
Their presence is pervasive throughout the environment worldwide. PFAS contamination is impacting many states across the U.S. SCV Water is one of more than 200 water systems and more than 612 groundwater wells in California required to sample for PFAS chemicals.
In 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency published a Lifetime Health Advisory recommending that the concentration of PFOA and PFOS in drinking water, either individually or combined, should not be greater than 70 parts per trillion (ppt).
In June 2018, the State Water Resources Control Board – Division of Drinking Water and California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment established interim notification levels (NL) of 13 ppt for PFOS, 14 ppt for PFOA, and a Response Level (RL) of 70 ppt for PFOS and PFOA individually or combined.
Today’s technology detects substances at increasingly low levels. For perspective, one part per trillion is equivalent to a distance of one inch in a journey of 16 million miles, or the passage of one second of time in 320 centuries.
State and federal efforts are underway to set maximum contaminant levels for drinking water. Granular activated carbon, such as that found in common water filters available for home use, has been shown to effectively remove PFAS from drinking water.
For more detail on this issue, SCV Water has developed an Information Sheet on PFAS which can be found here.
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2 Comments
I don’t get it! They close this one particular well but then increase from 3% to 6% the new allowable amount in our drinking water! Anybody hear of Flint, Michigan?
Is the same but buttered up version of this?
Quarterly Sampling Detects Perchlorate at Well Q2
Well Immediately Removed from Service
Well Q2 was removed from service after quarterly perchlorate sampling conducted on May 8, 2019, returned a result of 0.006 mg/L – which is the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL), where treatment becomes necessary or a supply needs to be removed from service. Q2 is located near the Lowe’s shopping center on the west side of Bouquet Canyon, just north of the Santa Clara River.
Well Q2 was immediately removed from service upon notification from the SCV Water lab. SCV Water contacted the State Water Resource Control Board – Division of Drinking Water (DDW), its primary regulators, to inform them of the results. Confirmation samples were collected on May 15, 2019 for analysis by both Eurofins (an independent lab) and SCV Water lab. The results of these samples confirmed the May 8 perchlorate result of 0.006 mg/L.
SCV Water will leave the well offline and continue sampling to track the contaminant levels while investigating potential treatment as warranted.
Previous Perchlorate at Well Q2
Perchlorate was initially detected at Well Q2 in April 2005. Treatment was installed on-site, and weekly samples were collected when the treatment system was put online in October 2005. Perchlorate was no longer detected and treatment was removed from the well in October 2007. Since then, Well Q2 has been continuously monitored and has not seen any perchlorate detections until May 8, 2019.
History of Perchlorate in the SCV
Since first detected in groundwater wells in the Santa Clarita Valley in 1997, the predecessors to the new SCV Water (formerly Newhall County Water District, Santa Clarita Water Division, Valencia Water Company and Castaic Lake Water Agency) have worked diligently with state environmental and health regulators to address the perchlorate problem. This includes seeking reimbursement for groundwater cleanup and replacement water supply costs from responsible parties, the Whittaker Corporation and its insurers.
The state-of-the-art Saugus Perchlorate Treatment Facility (SPTF) employs a single-pass ion exchange process. It is the result of extensive technical investigations, identifying best-practice control strategies, as well as the most effective and least costly treatment processes. The SPTF is located near the Lowe’s off Bouquet Canyon Road. It began delivering treated groundwater in January 2011. As of December 31, 2017, the facility has removed, treated and returned over 7 billion gallons (over 22,000 acre-feet) of groundwater for beneficial use.
SCV Water has vigorously pursued treatment, as well as payment from Whittaker-Bermite.
Perchlorate was used as a solid fuel component in the manufacture of munitions, fireworks, flares, and other explosives at the Whittaker-Bermite site located south of Soledad Canyon Parkway and east of San Fernando Road (Railroad Avenue) for approximately forty years. Improperly disposed waste leaked into the groundwater and contaminated the wells. In addition to groundwater remediation efforts, there is a cleanup effort underway on the Whittaker-Bermite property under the jurisdiction of the State Division of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC).
Once used as a medication to treat overactive thyroid glands, perchlorate can impair the function of normal and underactive thyroids. It has also been linked to problems with fetal development in pregnant woman.
For more information, visit the Whittaker-Bermite Information website, maintained by the City of Santa Clarita: http://www.whittakerbermite.com.
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About SCV Water:
The Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency (SCV Water) is a full-service regional water agency located in the Santa Clarita Valley. SCV Water provides water service to approximately 72,000 business and residential customers. It was formed on January 1, 2018 when local water suppliers combined into one integrated, regional water provider. More information can be found at http://www.yourSCVwater.com
For more information, please contact:
Kathie Martin
Public Information Officer
SCV Water
kmartin@scvwa.org
If it is so, then why all the persiflage?
And if you don’t know what that word means, why do you even have a job?