Due to contamination of drinking water that was pumped to homes and businesses, the City of Poway, California will be cited by the Water Resources Control Board Division of Drinking Water.
Heavy rains overwhelmed the City of Poway’s drinking water infrastructure, as storm drains were over capacity and untreated runoff wound up contaminating treated drinking water. According to the state, this never should have happened, not because the storm drains shouldn’t have reached capacity, but because there never should have been a connection between the storm drains and the treated water reservoirs in the first place. The heart of the issue is a compliance matter more than it is an infrastructure problem.
When the problem was first discovered, the water coming out of faucets was brown. Though the discoloration problem was fixed relatively quickly and a boil water order was issued, there were still concerns about the high bacteria levels and low chlorine levels in the water.
The city acted quickly when the news of the contamination broke by issuing the notice and providing bottled water; however, restaurants had to close down temporarily, causing them to incur losses.
The City announced its intention to undergo a multimillion dollar capital improvement project. As of December 4, 2019, Poway was still dealing with the problem with the temporary boil water advisory, and by flushing out the system.
Hear the full story from KPBS here.
This contamination issue and its effects on the businesses and citizens and businesses of the City of Poway exemplifies the importance of identifying potential risks and hazards to a system. Read more about how AARC can help your system develop a Risk and Resilience Assessment and Emergency Response Plan for AWIA compliance here.