ECUA responds to EWG report
The Emerald Coast Utilities Authority released a statement on its website yesterday responding to the recent report by the Environmental Working Group which claimed ECUA had the worst tap water among the 100 systems surveyed.
In the statement, ECUA reiterates that its water is “perfectly safe” and “meets all federal and state standards.” ECUA marginalises the EWG report, saying that every water source contains trace amounts of various chemicals, and ECUA’s water is “some of the best in the country despite what the environmental advocacy groups have to say.” ECUA spokeswoman Nathalie Bowers told the News Journal, “Clearly, there is incorrect information there,” referring to the EWG report.
ECUA’s statement, in its entirety:
We appreciate our customers’ concerns related to the quality of our drinking water. First, ECUA’s drinking water is perfectly safe and meets all federal and state standards. Second, data used in the report by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) were taken from all the utilities’ Water Quality Reports (click here to see ECUA’s).
There are trace amounts of various chemicals in our water, and every water source for that matter, but they are in parts per billion and parts per trillion which means the chemicals are at very, very low amounts. When we encounter any issue or concern with the quality of the water, we address it immediately. We filter out unsafe levels of these contaminants from the underground source water before it is provided to you, the customer.
The important issue for us is that the water quality standards are met for ECUA water. Our water meets these standards and is some of the best in the country despite what the environmental advocacy groups have to say. Our water is absolutely safe and meets every water quality standard from the environmental agencies. If the standards change, we will also meet the new requirements.
We take water quality very seriously at the ECUA. If you would like another copy of our consumer confidence report which goes into great detail, we can mail it to you. You can also view our 2008 Water Quality Report by clicking here.
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Reminds me of the statements our elected officials made after a survey said that most people in county believed that their was a lack of leadership in our elected officials.
I dont blindly believe everything I read but there must be a problem somewhere in order to rank where we did. They admit the data comes from their reports but yet they still claim the water is “some of the best in the country.” I want them to show me just one water system that is worse than ours.
“We filter out unsafe levels of these contaminants from the underground source water before it is provided to you, the customer.”
Really, unsafe by what standards? The issue is NOT that ECUA is violation of any state or federal laws, the issue is that there are no standards for dozens of chemicals in our water. Therefore we have no idea what “unsafe levels” are. You cannot be in violation of drinking water standards for chemicals which do not have any set standards.
Most people seem to be missing the point of the EWG study completely. It is not to get communities in a panic about their water, it is to shed light on the fact that the EPA is supposed to regulate the safety of our drinking water and they are not doing a thorough job of it!