Cities Seek Restitution for Tainted Well Water

Local officials have put the Orange County Water District on notice that they expect to be reimbursed for the cost of buying replacement water after the agency inadvertently added a possible carcinogen to wells that serve Newport Beach and Costa Mesa.

Testing last month found low levels of dioxane, an industrial solvent, at nine wells that serve those cities, as well as Fountain Valley, which did not bill the water agency. All the affected wells were closed.

On Wednesday, the district’s board of directors approved in concept building treatment facilities to cleanse the water of the solvent. That will cost millions of dollars and take up to 22 months.

But if the wells remain shut until the treatment facilities are built, local officials will be forced to spend millions buying more expensive water from Northern California and the Colorado River.

“As a result of those shutdowns, our city will likely incur additional water purchasing costs of $3.9 million annually,” wrote Tod Ridgeway, mayor of Newport Beach, in a Feb. 14 letter to the water agency.

The bill from the city does not mention a specific amount but says Newport Beach would hold the agency accountable for any increased costs, which could take the form of cash payments, credit to the city or other options.

Meanwhile, new testing revealed dioxane at a Santa Ana well that serves Irvine and parts of Tustin, Orange and Santa Ana Heights, though that well is not in use. The county water district is among the first in the state to test for dioxane, a new contaminant that has no state or federal limits.

The source of the contamination is highly treated sewage water that the district injects into the ground to keep seawater from intruding into the freshwater aquifer beneath northern and central Orange County. While this has kept saltwater out, the sewage water contained dioxane. The agency is now treating the sewage water it injects with higher levels of peroxide to keep more dioxane from being added to the groundwater.

However, the district must eliminate the existing dioxane. The district has tested 37 of its 230 wells, and found levels above 3 parts per billion in 10, including the most recent one in Santa Ana. No agencies were required to shut wells but chose to do so to retain public confidence.

All four of Newport Beach’s wells are closed, meaning the city is relying entirely on imported water, which costs about 52% more than groundwater.

“Because this is something that [OCWD added] to the groundwater basin, we believe we’re entitled to ask for payment for our costs ... rather than passing that on to consumers,” said Dave Kiff, assistant city manager.

Mesa Consolidated Water District, which serves Costa Mesa, closed the three contaminated wells; it has six other wells. Diana Leach, general manager of the district, wrote in a Feb. 15 letter that she anticipates spending $397,600 for water this fiscal year, which ends June 30, and $852,000 during the next fiscal year.

Two of Fountain Valley’s seven wells also were closed, but the city hasn’t had to increase use of imported water, said Robert Kellison, field services manager.

Increased water usage during summer months would force the city to buy more imported water--costs that Kellison said would be passed on to the district if they occur.

The county water district’s board of directors is scheduled to discuss the issue at its March 6 meeting. Little is known about the long-term health effects of exposure to dioxane, but federal environmental officials have classified it a probable human carcinogen and the state recently deemed it a “contaminant of concern.”

Fountain Valley officials will be meeting with state health officials Wednesday to discuss the issue. The wells showed levels of 3 to 20 parts dioxane per billion; the state recommends closing the wells at 300 parts per billion.