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SFPUC holds public hearing on drinking‑water public health goals; staff to transmit report to State Water Board
Summary
Water Quality Director Andrew DeGraza presented the 2016 Public Health Goal report saying the utility met regulatory requirements but exceeded public health goals on gross alpha, hexavalent chromium, lead and total coliforms in limited samples; the Commission approved transmittal of the hearing record to the State Water Resources Control Board.
The Commission convened a public hearing on the 2016 Public Health Goal (PHG) report for the San Francisco water system and voted to transmit the hearing record to the State Water Resources Control Board.
Andrew DeGraza, Water Quality Director, explained that public health goals represent ideal contaminant levels and are generally lower (more stringent) than enforceable drinking‑water standards because regulators must consider cost and available technology. He reported that the utility complied with all regulatory standards over the prior three years but exceeded PHGs in four categories: a single gross‑alpha detection at the Sunol plant (3.9, well below the MCL of 15), hexavalent chromium detections near the PHG of 0.02 (while the regulatory level is 10), some lead results above the PHG (0.2 PHG vs action level of 15), and occasional total coliform detections (PHG 0 but occasional coliforms are expected in non‑sterile systems).
DeGraza described current mitigation practices: optimized corrosion control, replacement of known lead service lines (completed in the 1980s for the utility’s owned lines), meter replacement with lead‑free versions (96% completed), targeted free testing for vulnerable populations (WIC participants and selected housing authority samples) and outreach. He noted that achieving PHG levels for some contaminants would be very costly (for example, treatment to lower hexavalent chromium at all sources was estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars per year).
Commissioners asked how residents could obtain lead testing; DeGraza explained there is a nominal fee test ($25) with a staff pickup process and provided a general contact number for the utility. Barbara Smith (acting executive director, San Francisco Housing Authority) described a partnership pilot at Sunnydale where PUC offered free testing to targeted households; of the small sample returned, tests came back negative.
Following public comment and discussion the Commission voted to approve the recommended transmittal letter to the State Water Resources Control Board stating that the hearing had been held.
