NEWPORT BEACH : Report Drawn Up on Water Quality

Newport Beach, which last year suffered an outbreak of midgefly larvae in its drinking water, has prepared its first report on the city’s water quality.

The preliminary report, written by the city utilities department, says that Newport Beach water is “safe and well within state and federal standards.”

The findings will be reported to the City Council during a study session next week and will likely be mailed to residents by the first week in April, according to Robert Dixon, the city’s director of utilities.

The report was prepared with samples tested by Newport Beach and Metropolitan Water District laboratories and by independent laboratories hired by the city to conduct “blind tests.”

Regarding the larvae, however, the report says the midgeflies will be “periodic visitors” as long as the Big Canyon Reservoir, one of two local water repositories, remains uncovered.

The outbreak last year was a result of extended warm weather that caused midgefly breeding near the reservoir, the report said. While residents were upset about finding the larvae in drinking water, officials say the insects do not pose a health hazard.

As a result of concerns about lead content in water, the city has tested for lead in the drinking fountains in most city schools, at City Hall and at Hoag Hospital. The tests either detected no lead or a content “well below the established safety standard.”

The study showed that Newport Beach uses more than 18.5 million gallons of water each day. The water comes from the Colorado River or Northern California, is delivered by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and treated at the Diemer Filtration Plant in Yorba Linda.