Policy Notes
Good news for parks and water
California voters wholeheartedly supported Proposition 12 (Parks) and Proposition 13 (Water), which give over $4 billion in bonding authority to state and local agencies responsible for parks and water projects throughout California. The two bonds measures, which were strongly supported by the Governor, are designed to work together to protect and manage watersheds and to help water agencies improve water quality and increase water supply—particularly during droughts. Environmentalists joined urban and agriculture groups to back these measures. Now, the Mono Lake Committee will continue to work with these groups to make sure the funds are spent wisely. Your vote does make a difference!
Arsenic from Hot Creek in Los Angeles’ water
A recent report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) named the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power as the largest water provider nationwide to supply its customers with drinking water containing five parts per billion or more of arsenic. According to the National Academy of Sciences, if someone drinks two quarts of water a day with the current national drinking water standard for arsenic, 50 parts per billion (ppb), there is one in 100 chances of that person having bladder, lung, or skin cancer. This level of arsenic can also cause kidney and liver cancer as well as problems for the central nervous system, heart, and blood vessels.
Currently the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is developing a new and stronger arsenic standard, probably five ppb or a one in 1000 risk factor, and they will seek public comment on this new standard later in the year. The standard sought by NRDC is three ppb, and Clean Water Action is advocating a two ppb standard.
Naturally occurring arsenic from Hot Creek in Mono County is one of the main sources of arsenic in DWP water. Over the last five years, DWP has set up year round treatment at its Cottonwood Facility to reduce the arsenic levels in LA Aqueduct water. The result has been lowered arsenic levels, between four and seven ppb. Between 1980–1998 the average arsenic level was 6.9 ppb, although in April 1993 there was a spike of 73.3 ppb. If DWP is to get most of the arsenic out of the water, it will need to build a treatment facility at Hot Creek. DWP estimates the cost of a new plant would add $5–$14 to a customer’s bill, but it is giving this option serious consideration because there would be multiple benefits—lower arsenic levels in Crowley Lake, for example.
The Mono Lake Committee will post a notice on this website when the new EPA standards are open for comment. You can also contact the EPA directly at www.epa.gov/safewater/arsenic.html or write to Carol Browner, Administrator, USEPA, 401 M St. SW, Washington, D.C. 20460. A copy of the NRDC report is available at www.nrdc.org. Each July all water districts must release a Drinking Water Consumer Confidence Report. You can contact Clean Water Action www.cleanwater.org on how they recommend using this report to help your water agency do its best.
Drinking water safety Is no. 1
Orange County’s dependence on underground aquifers for its drinking water means it must ensure that the ground water is not contaminated by gasoline or other pollutants. The possibility that underground gasoline tanks need closer scrutiny to guard against leakage deserves more discussion. California’s county district attorneys, who prosecute polluters, supported state legislation requiring the installation of shafts—which would test for leaks—near underground tanks at gas stations. But the legislation was defeated last year on the grounds that many counties are not very dependent on aquifer water, getting their water instead from outside sources like the Colorado River. It is true that installing shafts and operating them would be burdensome, costing gas stations $3,000 or more to install and perhaps $5,000 annually to operate. But if it turns out that the shafts are the best way to detect seepage, that’s money that may have to be spent.
Orange County received a scare last year when officials found that the gasoline additive MTBE, methyl tertiary butyl ether, had contaminated a well in Yorba Linda. The leak was discovered before the water got as far as household taps, and a deeper well was dug to yield uncontaminated water. The saga of MTBE is a cautionary tale in the battle to provide clean air and water for Southern Californians. It helps gasoline burn more cleanly and has been credited with dramatically reducing air pollution. But it also has been linked to cancer in laboratory animals and is considered a possible cause of cancer in humans. Governor Gray Davis signed an executive order calling for MTBE to be banned by 2002. Gas stations already have spent large amounts of money to overhaul underground tanks to comply with a recent federal law. But the county Health Care Agency has found some type of surface leakage around more than 40% of the underground tank facilities in Orange County. This raises the possibility of even more leakage underground, where it is difficult to detect. It will be up to the Orange County Board of Supervisors to decide whether an ordinance requiring shafts is necessary, but if the evidence is persuasive, public health will demand the extra protection.
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