Drinking water order issued after company ‘failed to comply’ with regulations

A California water utility has been ordered to comply with safe drinking water regulations to reduce the level of risk from potentially carcinogenic chemicals.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Havasu Water Company (HWC) must “take a series of steps to prevent further violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act.”

Part of the “failure to comply” with water regulations is “a violation of the maximum allowable level for total trihalomethanes,” the EPA said in a statement Thursday.

The Safe Drinking Water Act set the maximum total contaminant level for them at 80 micrograms per liter.

Long-term exposure to higher levels may result in “an increased risk of cancer, as well as problems with the liver, kidneys, or central nervous system,” the EPA says.

Moreover, the EPA found that HWC “failed to provide qualified personnel to operate the water system, provide required public notifications, correct significant deficiencies in the system, and report appropriate surface water treatment data.”

Newsweek contacted HWC for comment via email.

The provider is a private system located on the western shore of Lake Havasu, within the borders of the Chemehuevi Indian Reservation.

According to the EPA, it provides drinking water to 361 people and uses surface filtration to treat it.

Under a recent unilateral administrative order, the company is now required to develop a plan to ensure trihalomethane levels are in compliance with regulations.

It must also obtain “an appropriately certified operator, issue required public notices, address any remaining significant deficiencies, and submit appropriate and timely surface water cleanup data.”

This is not the first time HWC has had trouble with the regulator. A boil water notice was issued on February 8 due to failure to submit water treatment compliance data.

EPA needs this data to verify “adequacy of surface water treatment to control disease-causing organisms.”

HWC was forced to re-issue this notice to all customers on March 12, before the notice was finally lifted on April 16, after “HWC provided sufficient information to support the reporting of reliable water treatment compliance data.”

This comes after President Joe Biden’s administration and the EPA introduced national limits on perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in drinking water in April. These “forever chemicals” have also been linked to serious health conditions such as cancer.

Some states already have PFAS limits in place, but this is the first time the restrictions are being implemented at the federal level.

Of the 66,000 public drinking water systems subject to the new limits, EPA estimates that between 6 and 10 percent would need to take action to meet the updated standards.