Customers can be confident their water meets all health and safety standards.

UPDATED January 6, 2020 – Despite recently announced changes to how drinking water is monitored and tested in Californian, Rowland Water District is assuring customers that its water is below the new notification levels for the newly regulated contaminants known in short as PFAS.

PFAS is a collective term for a large group of synthetic chemicals that include perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed AB 756, which gives the State Water Resources Control Board the authority to require water systems to monitor for the compounds beginning January 1, 2020 with notification levels of 6.5 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOS and 5.1 ppt for PFOA.

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) were identified as health risks during the 2000s and were then phased out of manufacturing in the United States. The contaminants have been detected in some water supplies, particularly around landfills, airports, and existing and former military bases.

“Our customers can rest easy knowing that the District tests their water nearly 1,000 times a year to make sure it meets the highest state and federal drinking water standards,” explains Tom Coleman, Rowland Water District General Manager. “Although PFAS has not been found in our water supplies above the new notification levels, we will continue to test for these compounds and other impurities, making sure every drop meets the highest drinking water standards in the nation.”

The bill also requires water systems to report any detection of PFAS contaminants in their annual consumer confidence reports. If the detection exceeds the response level, the public water system must either take the source out of use or provide direct public notification to customers within 30 days.

“Our water undergoes an intensive treatment process before being delivered to homes and businesses in our community, and Rowland Water is continuously investing in additional technology and equipment to ensure our supply is always the highest quality possible before reaching customers,” adds Coleman.

The latest information about Rowland’s water quality can be found in the annual Water Quality Report at rowlandwaterquality.org.