Sonoma Valley tap water ‘excellent quality’

The Sonoma Valley water supply has never been treated with chloramines, the lead-leaching agent causing widespread health problems in Flint, Michigan, said Public Works Director Dan Takasugi.

“Neither the City nor the Sonoma County Water Agency use chloramine to treat City water,” Takasugi said. “Residents shouldn’t be concerned with the public health issues affecting Flint.”

“The City of Sonoma has excellent water quality,” he said.

The problem there were high levels of chloride, a corrosive that leaches lead out of household pipes. Both in the City’s well water and SCWA water, the Chloride levels were “vastly below” the Maximum Contaminant Level of 500 parts per million, Takasugi said. The City’s well water was at 8.06 ppm, and SCWA water at 9.2 ppm.

Tap water samples collected at sampling sites throughout the community showed lead levels well below the action level of 15 parts per billion, he said. The amount detected at the 90th percentile of samples was at 2 parts per billion.

Local water is also well in the safety range for acidity, Takasugi said. Additionally, outdated pipes are not a concern for Sonoma, he said, as all lead fixtures have been removed from City water distribution infrastructure.