State Water Officials: Yuba City Water Has Toxins, But Drinkable
YUBA CITY (CBS13) — Vern Burrows and his wife, Janet, have been living in their Yuba City home for almost three decades now.
You can't see the contaminants in their water with the naked eye, but the couple knows they have dirty water.
"Why take a chance?" Vern said. "Why use it if you don't have to?"
That's why they're only drinking bottled water at their home near El Margarita Estates, a community where families depend on private wells for water.
Water officials say while there are toxins in the water, it's not enough to make drinking from the tap dangerous.
But El Margarita Estates is surrounded by farms. Water experts say it's not unusual for chemical agricultural runoff to go underground and penetrate private wells.
Recently the state conducted a water analysis and found traces of toxic compounds in the private wells—traces of cancer-causing compounds.
Some families say the water board told them it may or may not be save enough to drink.
"They never said it was drinkable. They never said it was not drinkable, but they said there are things you can do to improve your water."
"This is an organic compound, so, no, this is not a boilable instance."
California Laboratory Services in Rancho Cordova is not working on the Yuba City water project, but Scott Furnas confirms it's not common germs in the drinking water.
"We're dealing with a chemical compound, and that's not to be boiled away," he said. "It needs to be treated to remove that organic interference from the water."
Clean water may be on the way. Yuba City Public Works Officials say they plan on connecting this community and 279 other site to the public water system.
The $7.9 million project, funded by Proposition 84, may not be completed until next winter.
