Water Purification System Ruled Out

Saying that the amount of several trace elements found in Oxnard’s water was too small to pose any real danger, the City Council has declined to take new purification measures that would have cost millions of dollars.

Nineteen elements were detected in the water, according to a report to the California Department of Health Services. Of those, six had average concentrations at levels above federal and state minimum health standards, said Ken Ortega, Oxnard water superintendent.

But each of those poses a very minimal health risk to consumers, and purification efforts cannot guarantee a system completely free of certain elements, he said.

“You have a better chance of hitting the lottery” than getting sick from the trace elements in the city’s water supply, he said.

It would have cost the city $254 million to $630 million in capital expenditures and $15 million to $17 million in annual operations and maintenance to approach lower levels of the elements, Ortega said. The yearly cost of water for consumers would have increased from about $220 to as much as $2,300.