The year 2020 was tough for many Angelenos. But one thing we didn’t have to worry about was the safety of our drinking water supply. Despite the pandemic, civil unrest, heat storms and wildfires that blanketed the L.A. basin with ash, essential work by LADWP continued to provide you and your loved ones with safe, high quality drinking water.
L.A.’s drinking water undergoes a multi-step treatment process that is closely monitored throughout the distribution system. This critical work is carried out by frontline workers that include engineers, microbiologists, chemists, sample collectors, and laboratory technicians as well as our everyday water utility workers installing and maintaining the vital water pipe distribution system. LADWP has remained water strong throughout these challenging times.
Our workforce adhered to all the pandemic health guidelines to keep safe and continue carrying out important work such as sampling, treating, maintaining and monitoring our water treatment facilities. L.A.’s excellent water quality also comes from continued investment in our vast water pipe network. That’s why we continued to replace aging pipes and install earthquake resilient pipes near critical areas like hospitals and first-response facilities. We also continued working on the diversification our water resources to prepare for dry periods and make L.A. water independent through increased stormwater capture and more innovative ways for our customers to conserve water.
A lot of effort goes into every refreshing glass of tap water. That is why purchasing expensive single-use plastic water bottles is not necessary. To help you remain confident in the safety of the water we serve, we offer free water quality testing at your residence or place of business. Upon request, one of our water quality experts can collect a water sample and submit it for testing at our state-of-the-art water quality laboratory. A customized report will be provided to you, which will inform you about the quality of your water and identify any potential plumbing system issues on your property. The inspectors help our customers understand the data provided in the report and identify low- and no-cost solutions to everyday water-related inquiries. This is a job that we take very seriously. In fact, we’ve completed over 97 percent of customer-initiated inspection requests by the end of the next business day.
Like many organizations this past year, we needed time to rethink and adjust our services to comply with social-distancing guidelines. These adjustments helped ensure the safety of customers, employees, and the general public. Where possible, we addressed many customer concerns over the phone and provided recommendations to improve their water quality. Additionally, we provided online resources such as a FAQ page and step-by-step instructions for common customer concerns. Following public health guidelines for COVID safety and prevention, we made some modifications to our processes and were able to conduct some in-person services in a responsible, safe, and customer focused manner.
LADWP remains committed to assisting our customers and we appreciate the opportunity to serve you. Our successes in water quality are detailed in the 2020 Drinking Water Quality Report that you can find at http://www.ladwp.com/waterqualityreport.
If you have any water quality concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us at (213) 367-3182 or by email at waterquality@ladwp.com.
