Special Report: Tainted Water – California’s new Chromium rule and its impact on the Coachella Valley
COACHELLA, Calif. (KESQ) Mailboxes across the Coachella Valley are filling with an unsettling notice this week: a formal warning from the Coachella Valley Water District about hexavalent chromium, also known as chromium-6, detected above California’s newly adopted drinking water standard.
The notice stresses this is not an emergency, and that tap water remains safe to drink. But it also acknowledges something many residents say they weren’t expecting, chromium-6 levels above the state’s new limit, triggering a long and potentially expensive road to compliance.
For many CVWD customers, this is the first time they’ve heard the term “chromium-6” outside of Hollywood.
California is now the only state in the nation with a drinking water standard specifically regulating chromium-6. The rule, which took effect recently, is far stricter than federal guidelines and is designed to address potential long-term health risks, not immediate danger.
Still, the notices have raised two pressing questions for families across the valley:
Is my water safe?
And perhaps, just as importantly, who’s going to pay to fix this?
Tonight, in a News Channel 3 special report, we take your questions to the experts and concerns to officials in breaking down what you need to know about your drinking water.
