What's in my water in Summerlin, Centennial Hills, Skye Canyon and Spring Valley?
SOFT WATER BY MELISSA
The SNWA provides a report on their efforts each year as required by the EPA to help taxpayers understand what their dollars are doing for cleaning up their water. However, there are quite a few things not covered in those reports, as well as chemicals that are added that have high tolerance levels or no tolerance levels at all. They provide charts that are difficult to navigate and process without a biochemistry degree, so I’m attempting to help out here for citizens who wish to understand what’s really in their water.
Some of the chemicals not addressed by the EPA include chlorines and their related compounds that are added as disinfectants to public water supplies, especially where sewage recycling is utilized, as well as perchlorate from 3 industry spills and contamination sites, and others. BOTH have no listed limits — in other words, chlorine is an “as needed” additive and there are no restrictions or consistency on how much is used. Specific chlorines that are glossed over are ones that are known high-concern carcinogens such as Haloacetic Acids (HAA 5, HAA 6, and HAA 9 in particular), Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs). Other toxins not addressed, but we are now currently learning about in the news, are endocrine system disruptors such as pesticides, PFAs, PCBs, and pharmaceuticals that are NOT REMOVED from the water. As for perchlorate, the EPA has decided NOT to include its removal in its annual budgets, leaving citizens to prioritize and pay for it themselves.
Because the Las Vegas Valley was deemed the site of the largest ammonium perchlorate plume in US history — a result of the largest explosion in US history at the PEPCON plant formerly located in E. Henderson in 1988, as well as runoff from Kerr-McGee and AMPAC formerly also located in Henderson — we have that endocrine system disruptor to contend with too. “On June 26, 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule regarding the regulation of perchlorate in public drinking water systems, and on June 18, 2020, the EPA made a final determination to not issue a national regulation for perchlorate,” but other facilities attempt to remove some but not all of it from the water. One is The Nevada Environmental Response Trust (NERT), owner of the property where the Kerr McGee facility was located, and the other is Endeavour, LLC, formed in 2015 to continue operation of the AMPAC Groundwater Treatment System. Perchlorate also has cognitive functioning effects (mental functioning) and impacts the growth and development of prenatal and postnatal children. This makes it something serious to consider when selecting water filtration systems for the home, since we are exposed in showers and baths, and our drinking water.
Many contaminants that the EPA does address are listed in our local water report, but the unit of measurement is in PPM or PPB (parts per million or billion), which may seem very small, but in fact the smallest amounts can do extreme harm. One example is arsenic. Another is chromium (hexavalent, otherwise known as the “Erin Brockovitch” chemical). In the LVVWD, arsenic is at 445 times what is considered safe by EWG, and chromium is at 10 times their standards; HAA 5 (246x), HAA 9 (721x), and TTHms (341x) are also covered in their reports.
Fluoride is listed in our local water reports, but its harmful effects are being addressed currently in a class-action lawsuit against the EPA in CA’s 9th circuit. Authorized studies have finally come back which are enabling the 2016 case to finally see some forward movement. Most hope that this toxin will be banned for EPA use as a carcinogen and neurological disruptor. Even a “chance” of harm should be enough to stop its use, as an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and not all humans experience effects in the same way, based on existing health issues and varying tolerances to substances like fluoride. It’s my opinion that if the tiniest amount warrants a user to contact the poison control center because of its use in toothpaste, that should be a signal to us all that it’s not entirely safe for dinking and absorbing through our skin while bathing.
In order to understand the effects of these chemicals, the non-profit EWG, The Environmental Working Group, has a topwater database that it updates each year, and allows us to see how high these levels actually are in simple terms. For more information, please visit their site (below) and enter your zip code to see these stats for yourself. They also have many articles on PFAs, PCBs, harmful pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers in our water and foods, as well as their prevalence in beauty products, baby formulas/foods/products, and much more. I find this whistleblower to be very helpful in determining many things I should not expose myself to.
Please keep in mind that we all experience a CUMULATIVE effect from a wide range of methods of exposure, from the air and water, to our foods, clothing, cleaning supplies, and so much more. Knowledge is power to ensure a healthy future for us all, and to keep us out of the Dr’s office as much as possible.
www.EWG.org/tapwater.
Other sources for this article:
https://ndep.nv.gov/environmental-cleanup/black-mountain-industrial-bmi-complex/perchlorate
https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/federal-lawsuit-could-limit-fluoride-drinking-water
If you wish to follow the TSCA fluoride trial, check out this web page maintained by the Fluoride Action Network: https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/federal-lawsuit-could-limit-fluoride-drinking-water