Water dispute gets murkier

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California
PRESS-ENTERPRISE
Water dispute gets murkier
Perchlorate: The state is ready to call some Inland supplies safe, but
critics strongly disagree.
By Douglas E. Beeman and David Danelski
11:53 PM PST on Wednesday, March 10, 2004

The state of California apparently has set a public health goal for a
rocket-fuel chemical found in Inland drinking water supplies that
ultimately could exempt much of the water from costly cleanups.

State science officials say the long-awaited health goal for
perchlorate, which will guide the development of an enforceable drinking
water standard, isn't final yet. The state has a Friday deadline to
complete its work.

According to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency statement released
Wednesday, the state health goal will be set at 6 parts of perchlorate
per billion parts of water. The EPA in 2002 proposed its own reference
dose - or known safe level - of 1 part per billion. But industry groups
have criticized the EPA for being too conservative. One part per billion
is equivalent to a drop of water in an Olympic size swimming pool.

Perchlorate has been found in dozens of Inland wells and in the Colorado
River, which irrigates desert food crops and provides drinking water to
Southern California. The chemical is being scrutinized because, in
sufficient levels, it can disrupt the thyroid's ability to produce
hormones necessary for metabolism and for brain and bone development of
infants in the womb.

But the debate continues over how much perchlorate is safe to consume
without affecting the health of the most sensitive people - pregnant
women and their unborn children.

Some Southern California water officials say a health goal of 6 parts
per billion, if it leads to a perchlorate drinking-water standard at or
above that level, could save consumers millions of dollars in
water-treatment costs. In setting the drinking water standard, the state
must consider economic feasibility as well as public health.

"From a compliance point of view, it certainly gives us more
flexibility," said Mic Stewart, manager of water quality for
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. He estimated that
cleaning up the 4 to 5 parts per billion of perchlorate found in the
Colorado River could add up to $150 a year on the water bill of a family
that relied entirely on water from the river. Most customers who drink
Metropolitan's water get a blend from different sources.

But other water managers said the health goal might not make much of a
difference in how far they go to clean up the contaminant. In addition,
federal drinking-water standards still being developed could make the
issue moot if those standards are more restrictive than what the state
imposes.

"Even if the goal is 6 (parts per billion), our goal will be to keep it
below detection (levels)," said Dieter Wirtzfeld, assistant director of
Riverside's Public Utilities Department. Some Riverside wells have had
perchlorate levels as high as 65 parts per billion, but most
contaminated wells are being treated or are not in use.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_perc11.585b4.html

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