press release

July 18, 2002

CONTAMINATION CONCERNS A FALSE ALARM
FOR COUNTY WATER AUTHORITY CUSTOMERS

A second round of testing conducted by the San Diego County Water Authority (CWA) last night found its water free from coliform bacteria, in spite of earlier "positive" tests that raised concerns the aqueduct water might face a bacterial contamination. Last night's results confirm that the "positive" test results can be attributed to laboratory or sampling errors.

This is good news for customers who receive treated water directly from County Water Authority pipelines. Customers of Sweetwater Authority, however, faced no danger even with positive test results. Sweetwater receives only raw (untreated) water from CWA pipelines, which Sweetwater Authority treats at the Perdue Water Treatment Plant in Spring Valley. Lab tests at the Perdue Plant and in Sweetwater Authority pipelines did not match the false positives obtained by the County Water Authority, and consistently confirmed that water served by Sweetwater Authority was free from coliform bacteria.

Editor's Note: Sweetwater Authority operates a conventional filtration plant adjacent to the Sweetwater Reservoir in Spring Valley. Except during periods when the treatment plant is shut down for maintenance, Sweetwater Authority treats the surface water served to its customers at this plant, whether its source is local runoff or untreated water obtained from the County Water Authority. The agency also provides disinfected groundwater, obtained from its National City Wells, and brackish groundwater, that is treated at its reverse-osmosis facility in Chula Vista, to its 175,000 customers in National City, Bonita and the western and central portions of Chula Vista.

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