Firefighting Foam Taints Cities’ Water

Tap water in 700 Cypress and Stanton households was off-limits for drinking, cooking and bathing Monday after the local water supply was contaminated by a firefighting chemical.

Firefighters were using about 15 gallons of SILV-EX foam to extinguish a recycling center blaze Sunday afternoon in the 11200 block of Western Avenue in Stanton when a mixture of foam and water backed up into a fire hydrant, said Capt. Paul Hunter, spokesman for the Orange County Fire Authority.

Some residents already had drunk potentially contaminated water--some of which looked clear and some of which looked soapy--before receiving warning notices Monday morning. Officials said there are no significant health risks because any foam that reached a household tap would be in extremely low concentration.

Residents are urged not to drink, bathe, cook or wash anything with tap water until they are advised the water is safe. That may occur as soon as today.

“We realize the inconvenience, but we need to err on the side of conservative,” said Lisa Lawson, corporate communication manager for the Southern California Water Co. The company provides water service to more than 40,000 homes in Orange County and more than 1 million homes statewide.

The foam is composed of ethyl alcohol, ethylene glycol, water and other chemicals and is used to smother flames. Exposure in high concentrations can cause mucus-membrane and skin irritation, but Lawson said the foam that was released was in extremely low concentrations. No health effects had been reported by late Monday, he said.

Highly diluted foam was pumped from an engine truck into a ladder truck that also was getting water from a hydrant. The foam was pumped at as much as twice the pressure as the water. This likely led to the foam backing up into the hydrant, Hunter said. Truck engineers generally monitor pressure on their lines. Hunter said an internal review is being conducted.

Residents began calling the Southern California Water Co. Sunday evening, complaining of foamy water.

“Just because people don’t see a foam element at the faucet doesn’t mean it’s gone,” Lawson said. There was no back-flow device on the hydrant to prevent the foam-and-water mixture from entering the water system, she said.

“With an emergency situation [such as the fire], there is no time to hook up a back-flow device,” Lawson said. “In a construction situation or any other situation when people pull water out of the fire system, there is a meter that has a back-flow device.”

Hunter said he is unaware of any previous back flows.

The water company flushed about 500,000 gallons from its pipelines late Sunday night and has been testing the water since. Lab results are expected today at the earliest, Lawson said.

Free bottled water is available round-the-clock by calling the water company at (800) 999-4033, or at Stanton City Hall, 7800 Katella Ave., or at the water company customer service center at 10852 Cherry St., Los Alamitos. Each household is limited to 2 1/2 to 5 gallons of water per visit, Lawson said.

Residents were advised to avoid the water, starting early Monday morning. Lawson said crews were going door-to-door with warnings as early as 5:40 a.m.

Janet Pederson, who lives on Rutledge Avenue in Stanton, said she received a warning notice shortly before 11 a.m.--after she had drunk a large tumbler of water with her vitamins and several large cups of coffee, and after her whole family had showered.

“I was really mad. I was afraid,” she said. “They should give better warnings.”

Shortly after 4 p.m., Pederson pointed to several fliers still hanging on neighbors’ doorknobs, noting that most of the neighbors probably had left for work before the notices arrived.

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How It Happened

Firefighting foam contaminated the water supply of about 700 residents in Cypress and Stanton.

Graphics reporting by SEEMA MEHTA / Los Angeles Times