City disputes ‘dangerous’ water reports
The City of Cape Coral is disputing reports claiming the city’s drinking water contains high levels of a cancer-causing contaminant.
The reports, which cite a report from a California organization that references testing results for a contaminant known as Chromium-6, are misleading, city officials said in a prepared statement issued Friday.
According to the reports, the City’s north RO plant was the only one that tested positive for the chemical in 2014, and the rate was “34 times higher than recommended levels.”
“This story is very misleading, and we cannot have our customers thinking our drinking water contains cancer-causing contaminants,” said Jeff Pearson, Cape Coral’s Utilities director, in the statement. “Our customers need to know their drinking water is safe, and this story calls that into question.”
The EPA sets drinking water standards and testing requirements for public water systems. Chromium-6 is an unregulated contaminant that public water systems are required to test for every five years. The last year the city tested for this contaminant was 2014. In the eight samples taken in 2014, seven of the samples registered 0.0 ppb, officials said.
“In other words, the contaminant was not detected in those seven samples. The eighth sample registered 0.68 ppb, which compared to the other samples clearly was an anomaly,” the release states.
“With no Chromium-6 detected in seven samples and an unusually high level detected in the eighth sample, this is indicative of a false positive,” said Pearson. “This is supported by the fact the EPA did not react to these results and request that the City conduct follow-up testing.”
The City uses “reverse osmosis” technology at both of its water treatment plants, and Cape Coral is an industry leader in this type of water production process, officials said, adding “filtration systems that use the ‘reverse osmosis’ treatment process are the best at filtering out Chromium-6.”
“The City of Cape Coral’s drinking water meets or surpasses all federal and state drinking water standards,” officials said.
The city’s annual Consumer Confidence Report (water quality report) can be viewed online at www.capecoral.net. Select “Utilities” from the “Departments” dropdown menu.
City officials said they encourage utility customers to contact the Utilities Department with any questions or concerns at (239) 242-3410.
Source: City of Cape Coral