Sweetwater Authority is hosting a series of public workshops to help educate customers on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which are man-made chemicals that can be found in common household items. The Authority will also review recent testing results conducted in accordance with the new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations that go into effect in 2029. These meetings will be conducted throughout the Authority service area in Bonita, Chula Vista and National City in January and February 2025.
Upcoming workshop dates
Tuesday, Jan. 28, 5 to 7 p.m.: The Authority will dedicate its January 2025 Community Advisory WorkGroup meeting to PFAS education at the Reynolds Groundwater Desalination Facility located at 3066 N 2nd Ave, National City.
Monday, Feb. 3, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.: National City Library: 1401 National City Blvd., National City
Thursday, Feb. 13, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.: Chula Vista Public Library Civic Center Branch: 365 F St.
Wednesday, Feb. 19, 5:45 to 7:45 p.m.: Bonita-Sunnyside Library: 4375 Bonita Road, Bonita
“We want to assure our customers that the Authority water is safe to drink,” stated the Authority General Manager Carlos Quintero in a press release. “We are hosting these workshops as an opportunity for our customers to connect with us directly to learn more about PFAS, the new EPA regulations and what steps we are taking to plan for future changes in regulations.”
In April 2024, the EPA issued a new federal National Primary Drinking Water Standard for six types of PFAS, which requires public water systems to perform initial monitoring by 2027 and to meet new thresholds for contaminants in water, known as maximum contaminant levels, by April 2029. While conducting required monitoring in October 2024, The Authority detected a small amount of two PFAS substances in water treated from Sweetwater Reservoir that exceeded the level for public notification. The levels do not require any treatment response currently.
