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Trustees press district to pursue testing, ask superintendent to meet Sweetwater Authority after PFAS findings at reservoir
Summary
Board members urged the district to press Sweetwater Authority and city officials about PFAS (forever chemicals) detected in the Sweetwater Reservoir that supplies parts of Chula Vista. District officials said environmental testing of school water is underway and committed to meetings with the authority and the city.
Trustees raised concerns at the Chula Vista Elementary School District board meeting about recent findings of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the Sweetwater Reservoir, a water source for Westside schools.
Trustee Luminess Serrantes (identified in discussion as a trustee raising the concern) cited comments attributed to Justin Bridal, director of water quality for Sweetwater Authority, and recounted that the authority had reported detection of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in the Seward Reservoir. Trustee Luminess Serrantes said quoted reporting showed the authority lacked a treatment solution and that options included taking the reservoir out of service or blending water with uncontaminated supplies.
Superintendent Dr. Reyes and district staff described steps the district is taking. The district has retained an environmental consultant, TNT, to test selected school sites; staff said they will test cohorts of six or seven schools at a time and that laboratory turnaround for a specimen is about two weeks. Tiffany Pong (district staff presenting safety/environmental matters) said the district will post results to the board update as each cohort is processed.
Trustees asked whether the district could seek a resolution or some formal notice to the authority and the city; Dr. Reyes said he would arrange meetings with Sweetwater Authority and city officials this week and suggested the board could direct staff to draft a resolution for the authority if trustees wished to take that step. Board members discussed possible next steps that could include meeting the authority, working with the city on mitigation, and considering stronger legal options if public health risks were confirmed.
District staff said testing would focus on water at school sites on the Westside and other locations near the river and that the district will coordinate any community messaging with Sweetwater Authority so the authority’s technical guidance informs school-level actions. TNT will also check air quality related to sewage carryover that prompted earlier community smoke/smell complaints.
There was no formal board vote to adopt a resolution at the meeting. Trustees directed the superintendent to open formal conversations with Sweetwater Authority and the city and to post environmental test results to board updates as they are available.
