2011 Water Quality Report Comes Out Clean

Santee tap water met all Environmental Protective Agency and State of California health standards for drinking water in 2010. This report explains what is, and isn’t, in your water.

The water you get from your faucet may all look the same, but it comes through the Water District who got it from a combination of about 50 percent Colorado River water, 30 percent California State Water Project water from the Sierra and northern California Delta and 20 percent local rainfall.

While all that water made it's way south it went through canals and other infrastructure owned by the , , and local which all coordinate in order to assess water quality and produce the required annual report.

According to tests by the Water Authority, the most vulnerable points in this chain, as far as water quality is concerned, is water from the Colorado River, which faces contamination by "recreation, increasing urbanization and the resulting increase in wastewater, urban runoff and stormwater runoff," and supplies from the Delta which "are most vulnerable to urban and stormwater runoff, wastewater, agricultural runoff, recreation and wildlife."

Supplies from the Delta have dwindled in recent years, being replaced by Colorado River water, which has been facing water quality issues of high salinity, according to the report.

The report includes tables with specific details about water quality parameters, broken down plant by plant, including parameters that could be a potential health risk and those that only affect the aesthetic quality of water, how it smells, looks and tastes.

The PH level of local water was tested at 8.1, a bit high compared to other plants, but within the 6.5 - 8.5 standard level. The water hardness was tested at 253 ppm, which is classified as "very hard," according to industry standards.

Here is a breakdown of key contaminants tested as they passed through Helix Water District’s Levy Treatment Plant in Lakeside, see the full report in the media box:

*Environmental Protection Agency Maximum Contaminate Level