In 1974, Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act to ensure that municipalities provide safe, clean drinking water.  The act sets the mandatory and enforceable levels of constituents in water known as Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs).  The range and value of these constituents must be communicated to customers annually in our Water Quality Report. Staff prepared this report and it has been available on the City’s website as of July 1, 2019, as required by the State Water Resources Control Board.  Additionally, California’s Health and Safety Code Section 116470(b) requires a separate report be generated detailing any contaminants that exceed the Public Health Goal levels (PHG) set by the state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), referred to as the Public Health Goal Report.  If there are no exceedances of the PHGs, no report is required.  Also, any PHG Report is not required to be sent to residents, however, it must be made available upon request.

The City of Garden Grove’s water supply continues to be in full compliance with all enforceable standards required by state and federal regulatory agencies.

PHGs established by the OEHHA and Maximum Contaminant Level Goals (MCLGs) established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency are based solely on public health risk considerations being set at levels where the health risks are very low, or zero.  The determinations of health risks at these low levels are frequently theoretical. The apparent purpose of the PHG Report is to give water system customers access to information on levels of contaminants, even below the enforceable mandatory MCLs.  PHGs and MCLGs are not enforceable.

Additionally, agencies that operate water systems are required to report any exceeded PHGs or MCLGs to their governing bodies and to hold a public hearing to accept and respond to public comment related to any exceedances.  The Public Health Goal Report is only required if a PHG was exceeded on a three (3) year reporting cycle.

For the 2019 Public Health Goal Report, seven (7) contaminants: arsenic, bromate, uranium, gross alpha, gross beta, total coliform bacteria, and perchlorate are required to be reported to governing bodies and consumers because they exceed the PHGs, although none of the samples exceeded any enforceable regulatory levels.

There is no financial impact to the city. The City of Garden Grove meets or exceeds all enforceable standards required by state and federal regulatory agencies.

It is recommended that the City Council:

• Conduct a Public Hearing; and

• Approve the Public Health Goal Report as submitted.

By:    Samuel K. Kim, P.E., Water Services Manager