Council Orders Study of Threat to Water

An investigation of possible toxic contamination of the city’s water supply at sites throughout the San Fernando Valley was ordered Wednesday by the Los Angeles City Council.

The scope of the possible threat to the city’s water was broadened last week when the Department of Water and Power’s San Fernando Valley water master told the council there were other sites in the Valley far more contaminated than a site at the Marquardt Co.

Where the sites are, how badly they are contaminated and what steps should be taken to clean up the toxins will be included in the final report of the investigation.

Concern about toxic contamination of the city’s water supply was raised last month when the council received conflicting reports from the state Department of Toxic Substance Control concerning possible water contamination by the Marquardt Co., a former munitions plant near Van Nuys Airport.

On Wednesday, council members unanimously voted to call for a study of the potential public health threats to be conducted by the Department of Toxic Substance Control, DWP and the Metropolitan Water Board. The agencies were directed to report their findings to the council within 30 days.

In an Aug. 28 memo, the state agency warned that “volatile organic compounds . . . known to be likely to cause real and immediate physical injury or result in adverse physical condition” had been released at the Marquardt Co. site and could seep into ground water.

However, a subsequent report issued by the agency said the threat was not imminent but could surface in time.

Councilman Joel Wachs, who introduced the motion calling for an investigation of the toxic threats, said he was “alarmed by this kind of frightening assertion.”