Sacramento Refutes News Report That It Added Carcinogens To Water

In a news report, the city of Sacramento was accused of testing a chemical in its water several years ago that could cause cancer.

“In 2013 and 2014, the City of Sacramento tested a new chemical at its main water treatment plant, and an ABC10 investigation found the substances that formed in the city's drinking water system as a result, could cause cancer,” ABC10 reported.

“Testing of the chemical called aluminum chlorohydrate, or ACH, almost immediately sent up warning signs that something was seriously wrong, and even though those red flags continued for an entire year, the city didn't stop and didn't warn people about a hazard,” the report continued.

Here’s what the city had to say about the report:

[The] report on City of Sacramento drinking water quality misrepresents critical facts about the City’s water treatment and water quality sampling process in 2013-14, and falsely asserts that the City supplied drinking water that did not meet safe drinking water standards. The delivery of water meeting all health and safety standards is an absolute priority for the City.

The State Water Resources Control Board weighed in as follows:

Based on the required compliance data provided by the city related to the trial, and reviewed and verified by Drinking Water staff, it has been determined there were no violations of the disinfection byproduct maximum contaminant level (MCL) or corresponding threat to public health during or after the ACH trial. The water that is currently being provided by the city is safe to drink.

According to the ABC10 report, the utility tested the chemical as a potential cost-saving measure. Use of ACH began in a trial to replace a water treatment chemical called ALUM, the report said.

Sacramento's Utility Director Bill Busath told ABC10: "There was an expectation that we would be able to save quite a bit of money."

Utility officials soon stopped the testing. “The city did eventually stop testing in May of 2014, but that was after the chemical trials went on for an entire year. During that year, according to internal tests the city was performing, reading after reading went above what the EPA considers safe for long-term exposure to DBPs,” ABC10 reported.

You can read the city’s full statement in response to the ABC10 article, which it claims to be a “false assertion,” here.

To read more about disinfection byproducts visit Water Online’s Drinking Water Disinfection Solutions Center.