The safety of a community’s drinking water is a public health concern. The Long Beach Utilities Department (LBUD) is the public agency responsible for treating and distributing tap water to the city’s homes and businesses. This department operates under stringent regulations designed to ensure the water is consistently safe for consumption.
Regulatory Status: Is Long Beach Water Safe to Drink?
Long Beach tap water is considered safe to drink as it consistently meets all mandated water quality standards. The quality is regulated by two primary authorities: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water (DDW). These bodies set maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for substances that could pose a health risk. The LBUD operates within these legal parameters, ensuring contaminant levels remain below established thresholds.
The Journey of Water: Sources and Infrastructure
Long Beach’s water supply is sourced from a blend of local and imported water. Approximately 60% of the potable supply originates from local groundwater, drawn from the Central Groundwater Basin. This local water is extracted from aquifers fed by rain and snowmelt percolating through the San Gabriel watershed. The remaining 40% is imported surface water purchased from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD), traveling from the Colorado River and Northern California’s Bay-Delta region. All local groundwater is treated at the Long Beach Groundwater Treatment Plant (GWTP) before being mixed with the treated imported supply and distributed.
Verification of Safety: Monitoring and Consumer Reports
The LBUD maintains an extensive testing program to monitor water quality. The utility performs tens of thousands of tests annually, with over 60,000 individual tests conducted on samples across the distribution system. These tests search for more than one hundred different contaminants, including microbial organisms, inorganic chemicals, and radioactive materials. This continuous scrutiny ensures that potential issues are identified and addressed, supporting the city’s compliance with state and federal regulations. The results are made public annually in the Consumer Confidence Report (CCR), which details the water sources, treatment methods, and contaminant levels compared to regulatory limits.
Addressing Specific Concerns and Home Filtration Options
While the water meets all legal safety standards, residents sometimes have concerns regarding aesthetic quality or unregulated contaminants.
Aesthetic Concerns
Water hardness is a common issue, primarily due to the mineral content from the Colorado River supply. This high mineral level causes scale buildup on fixtures and affects the performance of soaps and appliances. Taste and odor issues are often linked to the chlorine used as a disinfectant in the distribution system. Although the LBUD has determined the city’s distribution system contains no lead service lines, lead remains a localized concern originating from internal plumbing fixtures in older homes. Lead can leach into the water after it has sat in pipes for several hours.
Home Filtration Options
For residents interested in improving aesthetic qualities or reducing contaminants below legal limits, home filtration offers an option. Simple carbon filters, such as pitcher or faucet-mounted units, are effective at removing chlorine, which improves taste and odor. Whole-house softening systems can mitigate the effects of water hardness on plumbing and appliances. Reverse osmosis (RO) systems or certified carbon block filters offer the most comprehensive reduction of a wider range of substances, including heavy metals.