Customer said her water “tasted funny” in San Francisco San Francisco water officials said they are testing drinking water in the city’s Sunset District after a report from a customer who said her water “tasted funny.” According to the San Francisco Chronicle, officials with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission said the tests are “out of an abundance of caution” and they have no evidence of water quality issues.
Scardina posted a notice to alert her community to water contamination on social networking site Nextdoor.
City water officials confirmed to her they discovered pesticides in her water to be in excess of water safety guidelines.
“When I asked them about my area, they said that ‘yours tested positive as well but in lower concentrations (than other parts of the Sunset),’” Scardina said to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Tyler Gamble, spokesman for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, denied the city’s confirmation to Scardina of unsafe drinking water.
“From all the testing that we do, we have no evidence that the water isn’t safe,” he said.
Gamble said it is possible there are isolated issues of contamination due to private piping in individual homes.
Last year, the agency did 101,900 drinking water tests on its delivery systems according to city records.
More than 80% of the city’s water comes from reservoirs in the Sierra Nevada, smaller portions coming from local reservoirs and groundwater supplies.
Water to the Sunset District is a blend of surface water and groundwater, though some is purely surface water, according to city records.

People polluting our rivers and water resources know this fact.
But, they seem not to care for the wellbeing of nature, most importantly, all living species in earth including human beings.
These pollutants include fertilizers and pesticides from agricultural runoff; sewage and food processing waste; lead, mercury, and other heavy metals; chemical wastes from industrial discharges; and chemical contamination from hazardous waste sites.
For human beings, it is no secret that water is essential to survival, but besides quenching your thirst water also helps directly and indirectly various physical and chemical processes in your body.
Here are just a few of the functions performed by it: It regulates the body’s temperature Helps the kidneys to flush out toxins via urine It helps the nervous system by carrying impulses around the body Carries oxygen, nutrients and other essentials around the body Protects the vital organs as a shock absorbent and it also provides lubrication around the joints Fact is we all need water for survival.
The Constitution states that we have rights to live in a healthy environment and also to keep our water resources clean- our dams, rivers and boreholes is one of the most important ways of making sure this happens.
However, in many parts of the country there is increasing pollution and damage to our water resources.
Rivers with small amounts of pollution are able to clean themselves, but when there is too much waste the river cannot clean it naturally.
Water is important to the mechanics of the human body.
When dehydrated, the body rations water away from the joints.

The state so far had found at least 38 sites, including public drinking water utilities, rivers and streams, with high concentrations of PFAS, according to the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team, a multiagency program started in November 2017 to address the problem.
“PFAS, like the Flint water crisis — they’re both examples that make it clear elections matter,” said Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee, whose district includes Flint and whose midterm race is rated Solid Democratic by Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales.
Of 38 sites the state deemed contaminated by the chemicals, 23 are in GOP-held districts.
Two midterm contests in nearby GOP-held districts are rated Toss-ups by Inside Elections: the 11th District, where Democrat Haley Stevens and Republican Lena Epstein are vying to replace Republican Dave Trott, who’s not running for re-election, and the 8th District, where Democrat Elissa Slotkin is challenging incumbent Republican Mike Bishop.
“People are demanding access to clean water.” Democratic turnout in the state’s primary election, held less than two weeks after Kalamazoo County’s contamination was first announced, may be evidence of how PFAS is animating voters, especially in districts with contamination sites, he said.
Other GOP-held congressional districts with contamination sites found in the last year saw similar jumps, including Amash’s.
“When you have folks in Detroit and Flint struggling to have access to clean drinking water, and you have folks in Plainfield Township and [others] grappling with the same issue, it doesn’t matter if you’re Democrat or Republican,” said the League of Conservation Voters’ Allison.
Near the end of the hearing, he announced he was working with other Michiganders on the subcommittee, Republican Tim Walberg and Democrat Debbie Dingell, to propose legislation to increase federal involvement in cleaning up PFAS.
Two weeks ago, Upton’s 6th District seat was added to the Democrats’ map of targets to flip, shortly after Roll Call reported that internal polling by Longjohn found him 5 percentage points behind Upton head-to-head.
The separate PPP poll found him within 4 points.

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Moorestown officials say they are speaking with the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) who are cleaning up a superfund site in Cinnaminson in an effort to determine if it is the origin of the township’s ongoing water issues.
The EPA is currently working on the cleanup of a superfund site that covers about 400 acres of land in Cinnaminson and Delran, according to the EPA’s website.
The township has been dealing with trichloroethylene (TCE), as well as trichloropropane 123 (1,2,3, TCP) contamination in the drinking water since 2013.
At the Moorestown Council meeting on Sept. 24, Councilman Mike Locatell said the township was looking into the possibility that TCP 123 originated from the site, but township officials have since said that is not the focus of the negotiations.
Petriello asked.
Petriello said that the drinking water has been an issue in Moorestown for several years.
Resident Mike Babcock has asked council several times during that time to investigate the source of the contamination.
He had asked for an RFQ to go out to hire someone to investigate the source of the contamination, saying the RFQ wouldn’t cost township taxpayers anything, but it was important to find those responsible and recover money the township has lost.
"Just because you tell other council members doesn’t mean the information is going out," Petriello said.
Locatell said.

The city of Belleville has lifted a boil water alert issued after a water main break Sunday.
Due to the water main break on E. Huron River Dr .
As of October 8, 2018 at 12 noon the boil water advisory has been lifted for the City of Belleville residents.
Repairs to water main were successfully completed.
The City of Belleville would like to extend thanks to your understanding and cooperation.
Earlier, the city’s website warned that the break caused a drop in water pressure, which can lead to bacterial contamination, which led to the advisory.
Residents looking for information are asked to contact city hall at 734-697-9323 or the city emergency number 734-699-2395.
Guidelines from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline can also be heard at 1-800-426-4791.
Related articles: Belleville man charged in hit-and-run crash that injured Detroit police officer Contact Aleanna Siacon at ASiacon@freepress.com.
Follow her on Twitter: @AleannaSiacon.

Environmental officials in North Carolina say their tests show that coal ash released from Duke Energy’s Sutton power plant in Wilmington during flooding from Hurricane Florence has not had a negative impact on the Cape Fear River.
The state’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on October 4 said its test results on water samples collected on four different days following the hurricane aligned with results from Duke Energy’s water tests.
Paige Sheehan, a Duke Energy spokeswoman, in a statement said the state’s test results show “that Cape Fear River quality is not harmed by Sutton plant operations.” A DEQ spokeswoman said the state did find slightly elevated levels of copper in the river, but said they are not a threat to public health.
The groups said their tests showed arsenic levels 71 times higher than North Carolina’s drinking water standard.
The Sutton plant today is a 625-MW natural gas combined cycle plant that came online in 2013.
The site is home, though, to dumps storing coal ash, which is residue left behind after coal is burned.
Duke Energy has been excavating millions of tons of ash from the old waste dumps at the Sutton site and moving it to a lined landfill.
Disposing of coal ash close to waterways is hazardous, and Duke Energy compounds the problem by leaving most of its ash in primitive unlined pits filled with water.” Holleman later said, “When a hurricane like Florence hits, we have to hope and pray that our communities do not suffer the consequences of years of irresponsible coal ash practices by the coal ash utilities.” Duke in February of this year, in its annual financial report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, said it had resolved a series of legal actions stemming from a coal ash spill into the Dan River in North Carolina in February 2014.
North Carolina regulators earlier this year said Duke could pass most of the costs of cleaning up the utility’s coal ash operations to ratepayers, though the state Utilities Commission assessed a $30 million “mismanagement penalty” on the company.
—Darrell Proctor is a POWER associate editor (@DarrellProctor1, @POWERmagazine).

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. – Starting next year, the city workers who come to upgrade home water meters for Battle Creek residents will also check to make sure that home water pipes aren’t set up in a way that would allow sewage or chemical solutions to backflow into the drinking water system.
Battle Creek water customers will start to receive pamphlets next month that explain the city’s residential cross-connection control program.
Battle Creek water customers will soon receive this pamphlet on cross connection.
"We are not going to pick a street and go up and down the street," Hart said.
"We will be doing it when we are given access to people’s homes for meter work."
HydroCorp has also provided cross connection survey training to the city staff in preparation for the residential cross connection control program.
At a meeting on Tuesday, Battle Creek City Commissioners approved a new three-year contract with HydroCorp to continue the industrial and commercial cross connection surveys.
The contract will cost the city $178,920 with unit prices prevailing, and any pre-approved expenses outside the scope of work at the contracted hourly rate plus materials.
"They’ve done a really admirable job of getting to facilities and making corrections and administering the entire program for us," Hart said of HydroCorp.
Contact Kalea Hall at (269) 966-0697 or khall@battlecreekenquirer.com.

Monday the city of Hastings will start putting chlorine in the city’s water supply.
The decision comes after E.coli bacteria was found in the water system a few weeks ago.
The city says test results by the Minnesota Department of Health were unable to pinpoint an exact cause of the bacteria.
The state recommended the city find a permanent disinfection solution for the water supply, so Hastings will begin adding a low level of chlorine to the water.
"We want to make sure this doesn’t happen again," Hastings Mayor Paul Hicks said.
"We take this very seriously.
We decided to test our water every week.
We’re going to flush our system a little more frequently and we’re going to see how this chlorination system goes."
Despite fears by some of how chlorine will change the taste and smell of the water, the city says it’s perfectly safe.
The city will monitor the water supply for the next few months to see if they’ll continue using chlorine in the water supply.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — In New York state government news, the challengers hoping to oust Gov.
There are no debates scheduled in the governor’s race so far, and only a month to go before the Nov. 6 election.
Libertarian candidate Larry Sharpe is also on the ballot.
Molinaro accused Cuomo of ducking debates last week, saying that he’s willing to participate in several debates — though he wants them to be one-on-one with Cuomo.
"I am proud to talk about my record and vision for New York, but it’s clear that Andrew Cuomo can’t say the same," he said.
That’s especially true for Miner and Hawkins, who could use the debate to take their message to a broader audience.
Hawkins said he proposed a series of debates around the state.
A state task force charged with addressing the state’s drinking water contamination problem missed its deadline last week — and environmental groups aren’t happy about it.
Cuomo has even talked about the money before — frequently touting it and the creation of the drinking water council as evidence that he’s taking the problem seriously.
PFOA has contaminated drinking water in Hoosick Falls in Rensselaer County, while PFOS has contaminated drinking water around an Air National Guard base in Newburgh and groundwater near another base on Long Island.

Flooding from Hurricane Florence that submerged a Duke Energy coal ash storage area in Wilmington did not contaminate the Cape Fear River, according to North Carolina’s environmental agency.
“Test results show all metals below state water quality standards with the exception of dissolved copper,” the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality said in a statement.
The laboratory results from the agency contradict warnings issued Wednesday by the Waterkeeper Alliance and Earthjustice that coal ash contamination in Sutton Lake, at the Cape Fear River, was “insanely toxic” with coal ash, and that arsenic levels there were 71 times higher than the state safety standard for water quality.
During the height of flooding during the storm, the lake took in water from a nearby Duke Energy coal ash pond and released that water back into the river, raising concerns that contaminants had entered the lake and river.
DEQ took water samples in the same general location of the dam breach where the environmental groups had collected water on Sept 21.
Lab results tend to have the highest readings in water samples taken at or near a flooded coal ash pond.
The agency’s lab analysis shows that arsenic levels were so low as to be undetectable, as were the levels for selenium, boron and other heavy metals associated with coal ash.
This is the second time that DEQ lab results have validated tests conducted by Charlotte-based Duke Energy and contradicted water sampling conducted by environmental groups.
“We are pleased that the state’s test results align well with the extensive water sampling Duke Energy continues to perform, demonstrating that Cape Fear River quality is not harmed by Sutton plant operations,” Duke spokeswoman Paige Sheehan said in an emailed statement.
“They also show multiple breaches in the Sutton Lake dam where coal ash and waste water discharged into the Cape Fear River.” Related stories from Raleigh News & Observer Environmentalists say Cape Fear ‘insanely toxic’; Duke Energy calls claim ‘outrageous’ Duke Energy says coal ash isn’t contaminating Cape Fear River; state awaits its own tests Duke Energy ‘playing games’ with coal ash testing in Cape Fear River, scientist says Near Duke’s flooded coal ash basin, a gray film floats in the Cape Fear River When coal is burned to generate electricity, the ash settles at the bottom rather than escaping into the air through smokestacks.