Natural Perspectives

Vic Leipzig and Louann Murray

The city of Huntington Beach publishes an annual water quality report,

as they are required to do by law, and sends it to all residents who

receive a water bill. We think this is a good thing. Ron Davis doesn’t.

Ron was so incensed about the report that he made it the subject of

one of his columns (Water Report leaves a bad taste, July 5). He said it

was boring, and he was right. It makes deadly dull reading. He also said

it was a bad idea. There he was wrong.

We believe that education is a good idea. An informed public is able

to make decisions more wisely. Our Huntington Beach water quality report

is an education in itself. Even giving it a quick skim is enough to get

across four important lessons.

First, this report tells us where our water comes from. Our drinking

water is a blend of surface water imported by the Metropolitan Water

District of Southern California, and groundwater pumped from the Santa

Ana River basin. We get our surface water from the Colorado River and the

San Francisco-San Joaquin Bay Delta. Our groundwater is recharged by

rainfall and by Santa Ana River water coming from Prado Dam. Decisions to

impound or release water from Prado Dam to manage Least Bell’s Vireo

habitat can affect our drinking water supply. Water from Oroville Dam in

Northern California flows into the Sacramento River and we tap into that,

too. Decisions to impound, release, or allocate Colorado or Sacramento

River water also affects our drinking water supply.

Second, the report informs us about the list of potential contaminants

in our tap water. Our water might contain radioactive substances,

bacteria of various kinds, and dozens of chemicals both natural and

man-made. These chemicals might include pesticides, herbicides, salts,

heavy metals, petroleum byproducts or compounds that can cause cancer.

Yeah, we know the chemical names in the report are confusing and hard to

pronounce. Just think of them as methyl-ethyl-bad-stuff.

All of the compounds listed in the report are possible problems in a

drinking water supply. A reader might surmise (correctly) that all of

these substances actually do cause trouble in one part of the country or

another. This report shows whether or not these nasty things occur in our

water, and if so, how much. That’s where the third point, the good news,

comes in.

This report shows that in Huntington Beach, our water passes each test

with flying colors. Ron is certainly right when he said that the water

quality report is boring. But the reason is simply that our water is

boring. It’s boring in that there’s nothing wrong with it. Our water

meets all state and federal health standards. Perhaps it’s especially

boring in the eyes of a columnist, since things would be so much more

exciting if a contaminant were found in our drinking water. Chromium-6,

say, or MTBE, or excess nitrates -- problems people have in other

communities. If Ron wants, he can ignore these very real problems and go

right back to taking the quality of his drinking water for granted like

so many people do.

The fourth lesson is equally important, but just a little less

obvious. This report shows that someone is watching and paying attention

to Huntington Beach’s water quality. Ron knows that Huntington Beach has

a fine staff in the water division of the public works department. Ron is

aware of the care they take in providing us with clean, wholesome

drinking water. Ron makes clear in his column that he is sure that if

there were a problem with the water, someone would report it and solve

the problem. But what Ron knows is not known to everyone in town. That

boring report is a good way to help spread the word.

It may not sell newspapers, but the public deserves to hear the good

news along with the bad. In our community, we’re fortunate that the

quality of our drinking water is good. And if it weren’t, isn’t it

comforting to know that the city would be required, indeed, mandated by

law to tell us?

And finally, let’s hope the city council doesn’t take the last bit of

advice, really bad advice, that Ron offered them in his column. He

suggested that the city not comply when faced with laws such as the

federal mandate that requires water officials to provide the public with

information about the quality of tap water. Ron suggested that the city

not obey this law just because he thought it was silly and cost money.

Ron, you’re a lawyer. You should know better. It would be illegal for

the city to not comply with a federal mandate and, in this case, it would

be bad policy as well. Good news is as important to us as bad news. Ron,

we suggest you just sit back with a nice cold glass of Huntington Beach

tap water and cool off.

* VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY are Huntington Beach residents and

environmentalists. They can be reached at o7 [email protected] .