October 17, 2017
We take water quality concerns seriously and work tirelessly to ensure that the water we serve to our customers meets and exceeds all federal and state drinking water standards. We will always alert the public should there be any concern with the quality of water we serve.
LADWP conducts extensive water quality testing across the city on a continuous basis and, in fact, conducted additional testing of the water served in the Porter Ranch neighborhood during and after the leak at SoCal Gas’ Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility. At no time was the water served by LADWP to customers in Porter Ranch unhealthful nor was there evidence of anything unusual or unhealthful found in the water.
Lithium is a naturally occurring earth metal found in soil, rocks, dusts, surface water, groundwater, and seawater. It is not regulated by the US EPA in drinking water and there is no public health goal, which would be a first step in acknowledging a potential health affect and setting a regulatory limit. Because of this, lithium is not routinely tested for by LADWP. The trace levels cited as detected in the study would be expected to be found in most water supplies in the United States and are not harmful. There is no cause for the public to be concerned or alarmed by the finding cited in the report.
Further, LADWP does not have any groundwater wells in the Western San Fernando Valley, so its wells that are used for drinking water supply are not in any way impacted by the gas leak. The LADWP water distribution system is pressurized for fire safety and health protection, and its tanks are covered, so airborne compounds are not an issue for the drinking water.
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