Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : 35,000 Households Get State OK to Quit Boiling Tap Water
Residents can now drink tap water without boiling it first, according to state health officials.
The state Department of Health Services Friday said the water is safe to drink from the Santa Clarita Water Co., which serves about 15,000 households, and Valencia Water Co., which serves about 20,000 households.
Health officials Friday lifted orders to boil water after weeks of bacteria testing in the wake of the Jan. 17 earthquake. Newhall Water serves about 5,000 households and its water was approved earlier in the week.
Hardest hit was Valencia Water, which lost three water tanks and had cracks in several pipelines. Hundreds of customers west of the Golden State Freeway were without water for two weeks after the temblor.
“The earthquake damaged our systems severely,” said Bob DiPrimia, managing director for Valencia Water. “Whenever you have that sort of damage to your system, you can’t verify the quality of the water.”
Residents may still smell chlorine from the tap water for the next several days as water companies perform additional spot checks of water quality, said Bill Manetta, president of Santa Clarita Water.
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