Calabasas Drinking Water Declared Safe

Calabasas drinking water is safe to consume, according to an announcement made Saturday night by local water officials after tests showed no bacterial contamination.

The announcement came on the heels of four nervous days in this hillside community where health officials had earlier recommended that residents drink only bottled water for fear of what was circulating in the potable water system.

“Not only does this mean that people can resume normal water use, but it also means that there was never any cause for health concerns in the system,” said Arlene Post, spokeswoman for the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District.

Officials had said Friday that initial tests were negative, but state water officials had ordered a second round of testing before lifting their tap-water advisory, Post said.

The scare began Wednesday when local water officials said they discovered that a former homeowner had rigged a piping system to steal recycled waste water from the water district to irrigate his backyard. Officials feared that the waste water was diverted into the potable water system when the home’s new owners hired a landscaper who innocently opened a valve on the bootleg pipe.

The treated water then flowed into the home’s drinking water system, which connects to the system supplying some 1,600 homes and two area schools.

“I drank some of the water with my vitamin E and I’m fine,” said Ronald Harris on Saturday. He lives next door to the Bluebird Drive home where the problem began. “It was kind of yellowish that first day, but today it looks fine.”

Harris, who said he knew the former owner of the house next door, doubted his former neighbor was responsible for the sewage and water system mix-up.

“I knew him. He was very well-off,” said Harris, who declined to reveal his former neighbor’s name. “I don’t know if he knew about it. He’s a very wealthy man who doesn’t need to save on water [costs].”

A handful of area residents reported feelings of queasiness to the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, but nothing more serious, said Jack Petralia, director of environmental protection for the department. The Las Virgenes water district Thursday posted fliers on residents’ doors warning of the possible contamination to prevent any possible health problems, he said.

But some, such as Kevin Boyce, did not see the warnings before drinking their tap water.

“I didn’t look at my door [where the warning was posted] before drinking a glass,” he said. “I drank it and I’m fine.”

Boyce, who also lives on Bluebird Drive, said bottled water companies had been capitalizing on the contamination fear by sending water salesmen door to door, offering discounts for those who signed up for a year’s worth of their water.

“But our water looks normal now,” he said. “We didn’t sign up for the deal, but we’re still drinking bottled water from the store.”

Officials said Saturday that they had not yet tracked down the former homeowner suspected of installing the illegal pipe.

“Our first concern was determining if the water is safe,” Post said.

The treated water flows from the nearby Tapia sewage treatment plant and is treated in three stages. It is considered safe to drink in small amounts.

On Thursday, when the water district posted the water warnings to area residents, Calabasas High School and Chaparral Elementary School were also notified. Two high school students reported feeling sick after sipping from drinking fountains, but no other students reported any illness.