Sacramento Water Quality Analysis
- 01 | Who Regulates Sacramento’s Water Quality?
- 02 | Sacramento Annual Water Quality Report
- 03 | Environmental Working Group Water Quality Report
- 04 | Contaminants Threatening Sacramento’s Water Quality
- 05 | Sacramento Tap Water Taste and Odor
- 06 | Where Does Sacramento Get Its Water?
- 07 | Treating Sacramento’s Drinking Water
- 08 | Testing and Monitoring Sacramento’s Water Quality
- 09 | Should Sacramento Residents Use In-home Water Filters?
Northern Cali is no stranger to water pollution issues, and Sac-town is no exception.
The city is currently battling some nasty contaminants, including arsenic and PFAS.
Shockingly, they tested positive for 700x the Environmental Working Group’s health guidelines for arsenic.
Keep reading to discover what else might be threatening Sacramento’s water quality…
The City of Sacramento Department of Utilities provides and maintains drinking water for the city’s residents.
The California State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water sets reporting guidelines for contaminants and enforces the limits set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Every year, the City of Sacramento publishes an annual water quality report to inform its residents about the current state of their drinking water.
It analyzes more than 100 substances to ensure they meet all the EPA’s standards.
In the most recent report, Sacramento was fully in compliance with all federal and state drinking water standards.
With that said, not all agencies agree with the government’s standards for drinking water guidelines…
The Environmental Working Group is a non-profit watchdog group that gathers and publishes water quality data on cities across the country.
For Sacramento's most recent report, they collected data from the California State Water Resources Control Board, as well as info from the EPA Enforcement and Compliance History database.
Although they agree that Sacramento met all federal standards, the EWG has much higher standards of their own.
Out of 29 total contaminants detected, 15 of them exceeded the EWG health guidelines by the following amounts:
- Arsenic: 701x
- Bromochloromethane: 5.9x
- Chloroform: 18x
- Chromium (hexavalent): 240x
- Dichloroacetic acid: 7.4x
- Haloacetic acids (HAA5): 398x
- Haloacetic acids (HAA9): 463x
- Nitrate: 12x
- Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS): 3.7x
- Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA): 21x
- Radium: 11x
- Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs): 457x
- Trichloroacetic acid: 27x
- Uranium: 4.7x
Other contaminants detected at lower levels include:
- Dioxane
- Androstene
- Aluminum
- Barium
- Chlorate
- Chromium
- Fluoride
- Manganese
- Molybdenum
- Perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHXS)
- Selenium
- Strontium
- Testosterone
- Vanadium
Next, let’s take a closer look at some of the main pollutants threatening Sacramento’s water quality…
According to the City of Sacramento Consumer Confidence Report, contaminants that may be present in the city’s source water include:
- Microbial contaminants like viruses and bacteria from sewage, septic tanks, and livestock operations.
- Inorganic contaminants like salts and metals from urban stormwater runoff, industrial discharges, mining, and oil and gas production.
- Pesticides and herbicides from agriculture and residential use.
- Organic chemical contaminants from petroleum production, gas stations, stormwater runoff, and agriculture.
- Radioactive pollutants, either naturally occurring in the rocks and soil or from oil and gas production and mining.
Here’s a closer look at some of the specific contaminants found in Sacramento’s water:
Arsenic is a highly toxic metal that spreads easily through contaminated soil and water sources.
It is naturally present at high levels in groundwater in several parts of the country, including Northern California.
According to the World Health Organization, long-term exposure to arsenic in drinking water can cause cancer, skin lesions, and may also increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Childhood exposure and exposure to fetuses during pregnancy is linked to negative effects on cognitive development.
Although most of Sacramento’s water has low levels of arsenic, some groundwater samples reach levels close to the EPA’s maximum contaminant limit of 10 mg/L.
However, according to the Environmental Working Group’s health guidelines, this is over 700x the healthy limits based on current science.
Chromium is an odorless and tasteless metallic element found naturally in rocks, soil, and plants.
Chromium-6, or hexavalent chromium, is the most toxic form of the metal.
Sacramento’s drinking water has some of the highest levels of chromium-6 in the country.
Unlike arsenic, hexavalent chromium discolors the water at high concentrations and can turn the water yellow.
Some evidence suggests that ingesting this toxic metal may increase the risk of stomach cancers.
Unfortunately, chromium-6 is not independently regulated by the EPA.
Instead, the EPA only sets limits for total chromium at 0.1 mg/L, which includes both chromium-6 and its less toxic brother: chromium-3.
This limit, however, was set way back in 1991 when the cancerous effects of chromium were unknown.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are a category of contaminants used in products like Teflon, non-stick surfaces, and firefighting foam to increase resistance to heat and stains.
They’re also in hundreds of other products, including everything from microwave popcorn bags to guitar strings.
At least 162 oil refineries and holding facilities in California have stored or used materials containing PFAS.
PFAS is associated with dangerous long-term health effects, including:
- Lowered fertility rates
- Developmental issues in infants and young children
- Immune suppression
- Increased risk of cancer
Unfortunately, PFAS are not regulated by the EPA.
That means it’s up to you to take matters into your own hands and make sure your tap water is PFAS-free, but more on that in a sec…
According to the California State Water Resources Control Board Division of Drinking Water (DDW), exposure to PFAS in groundwater has become an increasing concern.
Three types of PFAS are of particular concern: perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), and Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS).
In the Environmental Working Group’s most recent report, levels of PFOA were 21x their recommended health guidelines, and levels of PFOS were 3.7x.
Lead is a common, naturally occurring element, but it does not usually make its way into rivers and lakes.
So, how does it end up in your drinking water?
Prior to 1986, lead service lines and household plumbing were common.
Over time, the inner lining of these pipes corrode and release toxic lead into the drinking water.
Currently, there are no lead contamination issues with the city’s distribution system, but some homes may still have lead plumbing components.
No amount of lead is safe, and the EPA’s maximum contaminant level is set at zero.
Infants and young children are especially vulnerable to the effects of lead poisoning.
Even low levels of exposure can cause symptoms like:
- Damage to the nervous system
- Stunted growth
- Impaired hearing
- Poor blood cell function
- Lower IQ
- Learning disabilities
In severe cases, lead ingestion can even cause seizures, coma and death.
Pregnant women should be very cautious, because lead can accumulate on the body over time and deposits in the bones.
During pregnancy, the lead releases from the bones along with calcium and spreads to the fetus.
As a result, this can cause premature birth and low birth weight.
Adults exposed to lead can also suffer from high blood pressure, decreased kidney function, and reproductive problems in both men and women.
Disinfection byproducts, or DBPs, are a group of contaminants that form when chlorine-based disinfectants mix with organic matter in water.
Research shows that long-term exposure to DBPs may cause liver damage, decreased nervous system activity, and cancer.
According to the Environmental Working Group’s most recent report, Sacramento tested positive for over 400x their health guidelines for three different types of DBPs: haloacetic acids (HAA5), haloacetic acids (HAA9), and total trihalomethanes.
You might notice a change in the taste and smell of Sacramento’s tap water depending on the time of year and temperature.
In late summer, the city’s water can have an earthy or musty taste.
This is due to algae growing in local rivers from decaying organic material in the hot summer heat.
In most cases, this algae is not harmful at low to moderate levels.
However, in severe cases it can produce large amounts of cyanotoxins: bacteria that can be harmful to human health.
Fortunately, the city’s treatment process with chloramines usually kills this bacteria and can help reduce the musty smell.
However, the chlorine and chloramines used to disinfect the water can cause the water to smell and taste like a swimming pool, so you’re just trading one nasty flavor for another.
Sacramento gets its water from two main sources: The American and Sacramento rivers.
Some parts of town also get their water from 28 different groundwater wells.
About 80% of the drinking water comes from the rivers and the remaining 20% from groundwater.
The city is split into four services areas:
- Arden Park Vista, Northgate, and Southwest Tract
- Hood, East Walnut Grove, and Delta Estates
- Laguna, Vineyard, and Country Creek Estates
- Mather, Sunrise, and Anatolia
All four of these districts receive a mix of water from groundwater supplies and surface water.
The city treats groundwater on site at the wells, and treats surface water at the E.A. Fairbairn and Sacramento River Water Treatment plants located on the American and Sacramento rivers.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the treatment process from start-to-finish:
- Intake: Water is pumped from the rivers and into a grit basin.
- Grit Basin: Sediment and other heavy particles settle at the bottom of the grit basin and the cleaner water at the top flows to the next step.
- Flocculation: In the flocculation tanks, substances are added to the water to cause smaller particles to clump together and form “floc” so they can be more easily removed.
- Sedimentation: The water flows into sedimentation basins where particles settle to the bottom. This step removes about 85% of the solid particles in the water.
- Filtration: The water passes through sand and anthracite filters to remove the final 15% of contamination and produce clear drinking water.
- Storage: The treated water is stored in reservoirs until it’s needed, and then travels through over 1,500 miles of pipes to local homes and businesses.
The City of Sacramento tests for more than 100 substances under the Safe Drinking Water Act and the State Water Resources Control Board.
They also take the extra step to test for PFAS, which are not regulated by the federal government.
The City of Sacramento Department of Utilities pays especially close attention to groundwater wells and monitors for two main types of PFAS: PFOA and PFOS.
If the water exceeds the city’s guidelines, they remove it from the distribution system.
Lead is another tricky contaminant to test for because contamination usually happens after the treatment process.
To track the issue, the city collects water samples from homeowners’ taps once every three years.
This is required by federal and state law.
Although Sacramento puts in the extra effort to test for some unregulated contaminants like PFAS, there is still no way for the city to prevent all of them from sneaking through.
And of course lead is always a risk depending on the type of service lines and plumbing components in your home.
Worst of all, arsenic is one of the most dangerous water pollutants, and Sacramento has serious issues with it.
In the end, the only way to ensure safe drinking water for you and your family is to install a filtration system in your home.
Reverse osmosis (RO) systems are the most advanced filtration technology available for in-home use.
High quality RO filters can remove up to 99.9% of all dangerous contaminants, including hard-to-remove ones like arsenic and PFAS.
Cloud Water Filters combine several stages of filtration, including:
- Sediment filters to remove first, rust, dust, dirt and debris
- Activated carbon filters to remove chlorine and improve the taste of your water
- Ion exchange resins to remove excess hard minerals like magnesium and calcium
- RO membranes to remove all the nastiest contaminants like lead, PFAS and arsenic
- Polishing filters to catch any remaining pollutants
- Remineralization to add a healthy ratio of minerals back into the water for perfectly balanced pH
Cloud even uses built-in software to track and monitor water quality 24/7 through an app on your phone.
Are you ready to drink world-class water straight from your tap?
