Coachella Valley residents want to know how polluted is the water they use?

Most water lines in every State and community were put in from the 1940s thru the 1970s. During this period of time, asbestos and lead were used in the pipes delivering water to our homes. Salton City resident, Joanne Evens Everett called Coachella Valley Water District (CVWB) wanting to speak with someone knowledgeable about our water quality, and find out if and when water lines would be replaced. She was referred to Jim Barrett, General Manager.

Ms. Everett received a response via e-mail from a person named Steve from Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.). She stated “I think they tried to answer my questions, I’m not entirely satisfied with what they said. For instance, when I made the statement that we have poor water quality even though it does pass the standards; all he said was ‘Yes, we do meet a lot of quality standards,’ but he didn’t quantify it. I expressed my concern about the asbestos because, contrary to their statement that only if you inhale it, it’s a problem. There have been recent articles that say if asbestos is ingested, it can cause Gastrointestinal Cancer, Prostate Cancer and a multitude of other diseases.” Ms. Everett went on to say, “I feel that CVWD is keeping the water as safe as they can for right now. The bottom line is that they have plans in the works, two years from now to replace the main water line to our area. The fact that they were kind to me with their response, and they sent some substances to back up their words, I feel they are not just shining us on. I believe they will start replacing water lines in two years as they said they would.”

If you have problems here with the county, give the appropriate people a call. It’s well worth it. They will respond.