Water Quality
BURBANK WATER and POWER (BWP) is committed in providing to its customers water that is safe, clean and reliable. BWP’s water meets and exceeds all state and federal drinking water standards. The water is monitored and tested on a daily basis to ensure and provide an excellent product:
Good Quality Water
Along with striving to produce good quality water, BWP’s personnel also strive to be good stewards of the watershed and conserve the available resources.
Drinking Water FAQs
Q. Where does my drinking water come from?
A. The water supply for Burbank Water and Power (BWP) comes from three different sources: local groundwater, the State Water Project and the Colorado River.
- The groundwater in Burbank is treated to remove volatile organic contaminants such as trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE) before it is put into distribution system. Burbank has two treatment facilities: the Burbank Operable Unit Plant and the Granular Activated Carbon Plant. For the year 2008, 32% of our total drinking water supply came from groundwater.
- The State Water Project supply is imported from the Sacramento/Bay Delta and is sold to BWP (and other cities) by MWD. The Jensen Treatment Plant owned by MWD treats this surface water supply before delivering it to BWP. For the year 2008, 47% of the City’s drinking water supply came from the State Water Project’s California Aqueduct.
- The Colorado River supply is imported and sold to BWP (and other cities) by Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD). MWD operates treatment facilities for this surface water supply before delivering it to BWP. For the year 2008, 21% of the City’s drinking water supply came from the Colorado River Aqueduct.
Q. How can I find out if my tap water is safe to drink?
A. The water BWP supplies to its customers must meet the requirements of both the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Department of Public Health (DPH). BWP adheres to a strict sampling and testing program forwarding all the results to DPH. Some samples are analyzed by a third party laboratory which is state certified in certain analytical procedures and other samples are analyzed at BWP’s state certified laboratory. Over 1,300 samples are tested each year for microbial contaminants alone and over 18,000 samples for other contaminants. A summary of the detections of these contaminants is published in our Annual Water Quality Report. A copy is mailed to all our customers in June and is posted on our web site. You can also view the archived reports from years past on our web site under Annual Reports.
Q. How will I know if my water isn’t safe to drink?
A . You will be notified by newspaper, mail, radio, TV, or hand-delivery if your water doesn’t meet EPA or DPH standards or if there is a waterborne disease emergency. Also BWP’s web site will have all pertinent emergency information. The notice will describe any precautions you will need to take, such as boiling your water. The most common drinking water emergency is contamination by disease-causing germs. Boiling your water for three minutes will kill these germs if this type of emergency occurs. You can also use common household bleach or iodine to disinfect your drinking water at home in an emergency. Please see the EPA’s web site at: www.epa.gov/safewater/faq/emerg.html for more information and also for a PDF version on how to disinfect your drinking water in an emergency.
Q. What is this drinking water annual report that I’ve heard about?
A. Each year BWP provides to its customers an annual water quality report. This report tells consumers what contaminants have been detected in their drinking water, how these detection levels compare to drinking water standards, and where their water comes from. This has been a California requirement for almost twenty years. You can download another copy for the annual report on BWP’s web site under Annual Reports.
Q. What is a drinking water standard?
A. Under the authority of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), EPA sets standards for approximately 138 contaminants in drinking water. For each of these contaminants, EPA sets a legal limit, called a maximum contaminant level (MCL), or requires a certain treatment technique or requires a notification level. California’s DPH can set even more stringent MCLs, but not less stringent. Water suppliers may not provide water that doesn’t meet these standards. Water that meets these standards is safe to drink, although people with severely compromised immune systems and children may have special needs.
Q. I don’t like the taste/smell/appearance of my tap water. What’s wrong with it?
A. Even when water meets all state and federal standards, you may still object to its taste, smell or appearance. EPA and DPH sets secondary standards (SMCL) based on these aesthetics characteristics (not health effects). BWP works hard to keep its water from these common complaints. Some other complaints may include temporary cloudiness (typically caused by air bubbles) or chlorine taste (which can be improved by letting the water stand exposed to air). You may choose a home water treatment unit if you feel the water is still objectionable—please see below for more information.
Q. I am worried about a specific drinking water contaminant (i.e.--lead, Cryptosporidium, nitrate, radon, etc). What should I know?
A. Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. As long as they occur below the MCL they do not pose a significant threat to health, although people with severely compromised immune systems and children may have special needs.
Q. What if I have a severely compromised immune system?
A. Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. People with severely compromised immune systems, such as people with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, people who have undergone organ transplants, people with HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorders, some elderly, and infants can be particularly at risk from infections. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers.
Q. What about bottled water?
A. Bottled water is not necessary safer than your tap water. EPA sets standards for tap water provided by public water systems; the Food and Drug Administration sets bottled water standards based on EPA’s tap water standards. Bottled water and tap water are both safe to drink if they meet these standards, although people with severely compromised immune systems and children may have special needs. Some bottled water is treated more than tap water, while some is treated less or not treated at all. On a per gallon basis, the water from bottled water costs much more than tap water. Bottled water is valuable in emergency situations (such as floods and earthquakes), and high quality bottled water may be a desirable option for people with weakened immune systems. Consumers who choose to purchase bottled water should carefully read its label to understand what they are buying, whether it is a better taste, or a certain method of treatment. For more information on bottled water please see the International Bottled Water Association’s web site.
Q. What about home water treatment units?
A. Burbank’s residents do not need to treat their drinking water at home to make it safe. A home water treatment unit can improve water’s taste, or provide an extra margin of safety for people who are more vulnerable to the effects of waterborne illness. Consumers who choose to purchase a home water treatment unit should carefully read its product information to understand what they are buying, whether it is a better taste or a certain operation and maintenance, especially changing the filter on a regular basis. EPA and BWP neither endorses nor recommends specific home water treatment units. No single unit takes out every kind of drinking water contaminant; you must decide which type best meets your needs. For help in picking a unit, please see NSF International at their web site that tests and certifies home water treatment units, or Water Quality Association at their web site in which they classify units according to the contaminants they remove as well as listing units that have earned its approval. You can also check out Underwriter’s Laboratory’s web site who certifies some home water treatment units. Water treatment units certified by these organizations will indicate certification on their packaging or labels.