By Mary-Justine Lanyon
The Nov. 14 meeting of the Lake Arrowhead Community Services District opened with concerns expressed by customer Garin Vartanian on a recent survey showing an elevated amount of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in the water provided by the utility.
Vartanian referenced a map provided by the Environmental Protection Agency, showing Lake Arrowhead levels of PFAS testing at 200 percent over safe levels. Redlands, Compton, Inglewood and Riverside, he noted, all have lower levels. “Why is our concentration so high?” he asked.
General Manager Catherine Cerri responded that “this is a new emerging concern. We just started testing for PFAS. We are just now learning the lake has more of this chemical in it than the groundwater.”
Cerri added that the 200-percent number is “misleading. The map showed one test over the limit. Other organizations are determining what the safe limit should be.” LACSD tested Grass Valley Lake, she said, which tested lower than Lake Arrowhead.
This chemical, she noted, is “everywhere – in rainwater. It is found in firefighting foam, in clothing, maybe in boat finishes. We’re talking trace amounts – parts per trillion in the lake. Our treatment does remove some. The finished water we distribute is below maximum levels. We have to have a year of testing before we figure out what our levels are.”
According to Vartanian, the highest level of PFAS is found in sewage water. He speculated that the recycled water used by Lake Arrowhead Country Club may be leeching into the groundwater. Cerri reiterated that they tested Grass Valley Lake and the groundwater, both of which tested lower than raw water from Lake Arrowhead. “We have not tested recycled water yet but we will,” she added.
Following the meeting, LACSD sent out a press release on the detection of “trace amounts of a class of chemicals referred to as PFAS” in its water.
“Please remember that detecting a contaminant does not mean that the water is harmful to drink. The amount of PFAS detected in LACSD’s drinking water is very small but safe levels of PFAS have not yet been established. LACSD is taking preemptive action to reduce the levels of PFAS and will ensure that the drinking water complies with the regulations once they are set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the state of California. These agencies have been studying the health effects of PFAS to determine the safe limits of exposure.”
The release goes on to say that “it is not immediately clear where the PFAS chemicals are coming from since our area has very little industry and the water is sourced solely by precipitation and runoff.” Customers may want to consider installing filters in their homes to offset concerns about PFAS.
The press release, which includes test data, may be found on the district’s website: www.lakearrowheadcsd.com.
Cerri and the board recognized and toasted Steve Papp, the supervisor of Field Operations and Water Distribution, upon his retirement after 37 years with the district.
Papp, who moved to the mountain at the age of 10, graduated from Rim of the World High School and went to work for LACSD as a field operations worker.
“This is not an easy day,” Cerri said. “Steve has been the face of the district. Every customer I know thinks LACSD is Steve Papp. He’s given us a lot of years. He knows everything there is to know about our water system. We’ve been trying to download it,” she quipped.
Mike Blackwood, the Field Operations manager, noted that “most of the community knows Steve but don’t know how influential he has been in the training of our staff. Everyone outside of the administration office was trained by Steve. He has left his mark on everybody and will be greatly missed.”
Board President John Wurm presented Papp with a certificate and then proposed a toast with “fine Lake Arrowhead water.”
“You’ve done a fantastic job for the district,” board member Steve Keefe told Papp.
As Papp thanked the board, he turned to the photos of past board presidents on the wall. “I have served under all those directors,” he said. “It’s been a great ride. I started as a teen at 18-1/2. I have enjoyed it – this is a great place to work.”
In his report, Operations Manager Matt Brooks said consumption for the first 10 months of the year is down 6 percent compared to 2022.
The October 2023 lake draw was 76.60 af compared to 88.0 in October 2022. On the other hand, the wells are producing more: 23.47 af in October 2023 compared to 16.82 in October 2022. The comparison for the first 10 months of the year is 194.95 af in 2023 and 174.28 af in 2022.
Both the amount of water purchased from CLAWA and the amount of recycled water delivered to Lake Arrowhead Country Club are down. For the first 10 months of the year, LACSD purchased 39.06 af in 2023 versus 52.76 af in 2022. And LACSD delivered 153.22 af of recycled water to the country club in 2023 versus 215.09 af in 2022.
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