Water Is Declared Safe in Foam-Affected Area

Hundreds of Cypress and Stanton residents living off bottled water since Sunday can safely go back to drinking their household tap water, a local water company announced onTuesday.

But before they do, they are being told to flush their pipes to remove any potentially contaminated water that may have seeped in last weekend, said Lisa Lawson, a spokeswoman for the Southern California Water Co.

“It’s all safe,” said Lawson, whose San Dimas-based company serves more than 40,000 homes in north Orange County.

Water had been off-limits for drinking, cooking and bathing since Sunday afternoon, when firefighters battling a blaze at a recycling plant on the 11200 block of Western Avenue in Stanton inadvertently released a small amount of toxic, flame-retardant foam into the local water system.

While water officials estimated that the area affected included about 700 households--bordered by Katella Avenue, Orangewood Avenue, Western Avenue and Valley View Street--some residents put the number as high as twice that figure.

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The foam--composed of ethyl alcohol, ethylene glycol, water and other chemicals--can cause mucus-membrane and skin irritation when exposed to high concentrations.

But the foam released Sunday was in extremely low concentrations, Lawson said.

By Monday afternoon, she said, several hundred concerned residents had called, including a handful complaining of various ailments they claimed were contamination-related.

“That has not been confirmed by any doctors or hospitals,” Lawson said.

The water company, she said, spent Sunday night and most of Monday flushing affected pipes. Testing done late Monday indicated that the water was safe, she said.

Before using water from their taps, residents should run all hot and cold water taps in their homes for approximately five minutes, Lawson said. In addition, they should flush hot water into their bathtubs or shower stalls until the water turns cold, indicating that the water heater has been drained.

“This will make our days a little less busy,” Lawson said. “We always like to wrap up issues like this.”