Treatments Under Study to Bring TCP Levels Below New State Regulations
The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) adopted a new TCP regulation to take effect in January 2018 setting the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for TCP at 5 parts per trillion (ppt). The SWRCB requires the District, and other water agencies in California, to find ways to reduce levels of TCP that exceed the new limit.
The District has ceased use of this one well in its system where levels of TCP exceed the new state standard as it examines treatment methodologies. Since 2008, the levels of TCP in that well averaged 8.7 ppt.
“Our fundamental mission is to provide safe, high-quality water to the people who live, work and vacation here in the District,” said Dr. Tom LaHue, President of the District’s Board of Directors. “We never stray from that goal and we want to assure our customers that we take this new regulation very seriously. While the well is off, we’re working hard to create a treatment process that allows us to use it in the future, as a source of clean, absolutely safe drinking water.”
The District’s Community Water Plan (CWP) is a long-range roadmap to protect our endangered groundwater – the District’s sole source of water — and achieve water supply sustainability as mandated by the state by 2040.
The Pure Water Soquel project, which proposes to replenish the groundwater basin with purified, recycled water, would protect against further seawater intrusion into the groundwater and add to the water supply for District customers. The Community Water Plan is online at www.soquelcreekwater.org/cwp.
The Country Club well and the District’s five other nearby wells (none of which have detected levels of TCP) served Seascape, Rio Del Mar, La Selva and portions of Aptos. TCP is a man-made chemical used historically in industrial cleaning solvents and some soil fumigant pesticides. The TCP detected in our area was most likely from past agricultural fumigant use in our area.
More information on TCP can be found on the SWRCB’s website at http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/123TCP.shtml. The District, along with dozens of other water agencies in California, has filed a lawsuit against Dow Chemical and Shell Oil — manufacturers of TCP – to recover future costs of cleaning the well and treating its water sufficiently to meet state standards.