Most Water in O.C. Taps Well Under Suspect Level

Most water flowing from Orange County taps contains significantly smaller amounts of a contaminant than the level suspected of increasing miscarriage risks.

That comes as welcome news to health officials amid release of a state study suggesting a link between the contaminant and first-trimester miscarriages. That study found that women who drank five or more glasses of tap water per day containing at least 75 micrograms per liter of the contaminant had an increased risk of miscarriages.

But in Orange County, no water district or department contacted Tuesday reported average annual levels of the contaminant, called TTHM, for total trihalomethanes, that approached the 75-microgram level. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency allows up to 100 micrograms per liter in water but plans to reduce that limit to 80 micrograms this fall.

The Orange County Water District, which processes water for 2 million residents in the county’s northern and central areas, averages 26 micrograms of TTHM annually. A key reason is that most county drinking water comes from ground water that contains virtually none of the contaminant, officials said.

“Orange County is real clean, right across the board,” said Gary Heffelfinger, water superintendent in Westminster, which averaged 28 micrograms last year.

But there are times in some water districts throughout the county when water must be imported from northern sources, which can cause periods of higher contaminant levels. For instance, the Serrano Irrigation District had TTHM levels last week at its two reservoirs of 49 and 69 micrograms per liter, respectively.

Seal Beach water operator Mark Thomas said he, like other public water quality specialists, has been receiving faxes and other paperwork about the possible contamination.

For now, he said, he is “not really worried,” although he is reviewing last year’s readings carefully, including a 75-microgram reading last August when water was imported.

“Any health risk is a concern,” Thomas said. “I’ll read all the paperwork I’m getting, that there is to see, and see what it says.”

Water officials urged residents worried about the study to contact their local water department or district. Some districts reported their TTHM levels can rise and fall during the year, depending on water sources.

The study is provoking public concern, and the general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said this week that women in their first trimester of pregnancy should consider boiling water before drinking it.

But Orange County water and health officials were more low-key.

Dr. Hugh Stallworth, county director of public health, said he is wary of commenting on the study, since he has not read it. The study is to be published in an upcoming issue of the medical journal Epidemiology.

“I really don’t want to be alarmist and run around and tell pregnant women to boil their water,” Stallworth said. “I’ve got no data to suggest that I should give that type of recommendation.”

The study found that women who drank five or more glasses of tap water per day with at least 75 micrograms per liter of TTHM had a miscarriage risk of 15.7%, compared with 9.5% among women with low exposure.

Study co-leader Shanna H. Swan said that researchers did not see problems for women whose water contained less than 75 micrograms per liter. Regarding the county water district’s 1996 average of 26 micrograms, she said it is “possible but unlikely” that contaminant levels could “spike” regularly during the year to dangerous levels.

Swan also cautioned that pregnant women should not see bottled water as a panacea.

“I’m nervous about everyone jumping on the bottled water bandwagon,” said Swan, who is chief of the reproductive epidemiology section of the California Department of Health Services.

Study researchers found that the rate of miscarriages for women in Southern California who drank bottled water was somewhat higher than those drinking tap water, Swan said. Research showed that in Southern California, women who drank more than five glasses of bottled water and no tap water suffered an 11% miscarriage rate, compared with an 8% rate for women drinking the same amount of cold tap water and no bottled water.

The makeup of bottled water varies widely across the state according to its origins and how it is treated, Swan said.

Most local water officials said they had not received any calls from concerned consumers yet, but expected they would as news of the study spread.

“We don’t feel we have a problem,” said Marilyn Smith of the Irvine Ranch Water District, which provides water to Irvine and parts of Newport Beach and Tustin. “We’re well below the levels cited for concern.”

Still, nearly all said they would attend Metropolitan Water District meetings about the study in Los Angeles and San Diego later this week. Those purchasing imported water from MWD, which pipes it in from the Colorado River and Northern California, show higher levels than communities that rely heavily on well water, which runs less risk of this type of contamination. TTHM is formed by chlorine combining with algae or other organic materials caused by sun, rain or other natural elements.

“I can’t really make a judgment; I don’t know yet,” said Michelle Boyd, water resource specialist for the Fountain Valley Water Department. “All I can do is look at the data and know we fall below the state and federal levels. But that’s all I can say right now.”

A Times review of Orange County’s water sources Tuesday found that Newport Beach water had the highest average for 1997, with 54 micrograms per liter. But the city anticipates lowered future levels because it is relying more heavily on ground water.

The contaminant was reportedly not detected at all in 1996 and 1997 in several water districts, including those serving La Habra, the East Orange Water District, Mesa Consolidated Water District, the Santiago Canyon Water District and the Serrano Irrigation District.

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Washing Water

Activated-charcoal or carbon water-filter systems are one way to reduce the amount of trihalomethanes in drinking water. Carbon is also used in some water filtration systems. How this common filtration system works:

1. Drinking water piped into kitchen

2. Water passes through activated (steam-cleaned) charcoal

3. Impurities, such as lead, cling to surface of charcoal

4. Purified water flows into tap

Charcoal or carbon pieces are about size of popcorn kernels

Source: Rayne Water Systems