High levels of chromium 6 shown in school’s well water
Water has been shut off at an east valley elementary school after its well tested for higher than allowed levels of chromium 6.
When students return to Westside Elementary School in Thermal after spring break they will have to drink bottled water.
“We have take action right away it inched up from 10 parts-per-billion (ppb) to 13 parts-per-billion,” said Dr. Darryl Adams, superintendent for the Coachella Valley Unified School District.
The school district plans of getting rid of the well and start getting water from the Coachella Valley Water District.
“Fortunately CVWD has now put the infrastructure in place that we can now hook up to the water system from them. It’ll cost us about a million dollars to do it but we are not going to wait to hook that up. We are going to go ahead and use bottle water for cooking and drinking in the meantime,” said Adams.
Parents of children going to Westside Elementary are glad the district is taking steps to alleviate the problem.
“Well, it’s going to be a good idea. If they know it’s something regarding their health is a problem then it will be good,” said Veronica Moreno. She has three children that attend Westside Elementary.
Effective July 1, 2014, California adopted a new drinking water standard for chromium 6 at 10 ppb. Previously, the standard used to regulate chromium in drinking water was 50 ppb. The chromium drinking water standard for the remainder of the nation is 100 ppb. Chromium 6 is a naturally occurring element in the Coachella Valley’s groundwater.
According to the Coachella Valley Water District, there are no immediate health effects associated with chromium 6 in drinking water. The state is allowing water systems with less than 50 ppb of chromium 6 to continue providing drinking water for all uses while compliance plans are being implemented until Jan. 1, 2020.
It’s going to take about a year for the CVUSD to hook Westside Elementary up to municipal water.
