Updated 12/26/09

We Stand Behind Our Water Quality

As you may be aware, there was an article published last week about the safety of tap water. The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit group in Washington D.C., ranked 100 U.S. water utilities (selected out of 47,677) by their own standards of water quality and ranked Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA) very low. Their report is irresponsible, incorrect and misleading, and I would like to address our water quality directly with you.

TMWA takes the responsibility to provide safe, high quality water to our customers very seriously. We monitor your drinking water frequently, performing about 1,000 tests every month, to ensure that your water meets the high standards of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Safe Drinking Water Act.  The EPA sets standards for nearly 100 contaminants.  We are very proud to report that TMWA has always met all drinking water standards and has never received a health-based violation at any time from the EPA or the State of Nevada. You can verify that for yourself on the EPA’s Web site, www.epa.gov.

State officials agree that EWG’s information is inaccurate and does not tell the true story of drinking water quality in Reno.  Allen Biaggi is the director of the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, which oversees the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, the agency responsible for Nevada’s safe drinking water program.  He said, “EWG’s criticism amounts to saying federal water quality requirements are not adequate. It’s like saying driving 25 miles an hour in a 55-mile-an-hour zone is too fast.”

EWG’s mission is to promote and impose stricter standards than the EPA.  However, they provide no proof that tighter standards will cause your water to be any safer. According to the American Water Works Association, while trace substances may be detected at very low levels in source waters, people regularly consume or expose themselves to products containing these substances in much higher concentrations through medicines, food, beverages and other sources.

I am offended by the carelessness of this “report” and the unnecessary concern it puts on you, our customers.  If you want to know about the quality of the water you drink, I urge you to go directly to the source. Every year, we mail each customer a Water Quality Report that includes detailed information on water quality, including any violations of health protective standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

No one takes the health of the Truckee River and quality of your drinking water more seriously than TMWA. Our staff of skilled scientists and engineers work around the clock to deliver high-quality drinking water to your home. Many of us chose this career path because we want to do our part to protect drinking water supplies and we have dedicated our professional and personal lives to doing so.

Again, water produced and delivered by TMWA has always met all drinking water standards – your tap water is safe.  If you ever have questions regarding your drinking water quality, please call our Water Quality department at 834-8118 or visit our Water Quality page.

Mark Foree, General Manager of Truckee Meadows Water Authority
 

Updated 12/15/09

TMWA's Water Quality Statements – Response to EWG Report

• Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA) takes our responsibility to provide safe, high quality water to our customers very seriously. We monitor frequently – about 1,000 tests every month to assure that your water meets the high standards of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Safe Drinking Water Act.
• We are proud to report that TMWA has never received any health-based violations at any time from the EPA or the State of Nevada. You can verify that for yourself on the EPA’s site, www.epa.gov.
• We are committed to transparency. If you want to know about the quality of the water you drink, go directly to the source. Every year, we mail each customer a Water Quality Report that includes detailed information on water quality, including any violations of health protective standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act. We have additional information available on our Web site and welcome calls from customers.
• The EPA sets standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act for nearly 100 contaminants. In evaluating which contaminants to regulate, the EPA takes into account potential human health impacts and occurrence data. TMWA follows those guidelines each and every day, meets all standards and in most cases does far better than those standards require.
• Our customers can be assured that if we ever had any contamination that posed an urgent risk to public health, we would immediately notify customers and advise them of how to protect themselves.
• Lastly, no one takes the health of the Truckee River and your drinking water more seriously than TMWA. TMWA employees and their families all drink this water. Our staff of skilled scientists and engineers work around the clock to deliver high-quality drinking water to your home. Many of us chose this career path because we want to do our part to protect drinking water supplies.
• If you ever have questions regarding your drinking water quality, please come to us. You can contact the Water Quality department at 834-8118 or visit the Water Quality page at www.tmh2o.com.

Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) Press Release

12/16/09 That Tap Water is Legal but May be Unhealthy
New York Times

12/17/09 New York Times All Wet About Drinking Water Crisis
Fox News

Click here for more related news articles

December 14, 2009
Contact: Jennifer Sanzi
jennifer@o-apr.com
(775) 829-2810 ext. 515

EWG Water Quality Article Misleading

As you may know, there is an article out in the media calling the safety of tap water into question. The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit group, has ranked utilities by their own standards of water quality and has ranked TMWA (and SNWA – Southern Nevada Water Authority) very low. View the EWG report.

Various agencies are responding to the irresponsible reporting and research from the EWG. AWWA (American Water Works Association), NDEP (Nevada Department of Environmental Protection) and the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) are all issuing statements refuting the EWG’s report. It is important that you know we are working to present factual information in response to this and have communicated proof of our high-quality water to all that ask.

TMWA is and always has been in compliance with all EPA and Nevada State Drinking water standards. As it clearly states on this EPA site, the EPA has no record of any health-based violations at any time reported by the state for TMWA.

We are proud of the high-quality water we deliver and we are ready to present as much data as possible to ensure that customers understand we deliver some of the highest quality water in the nation. The EPA’s standards are among the most stringent standards in the world and we have always been in compliance with those high standards.

Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA) is a not-for-profit water utility, overseen by elected officials from Reno, Sparks and Washoe County. TMWA employs a highly skilled team who ensure the treatment, delivery and availability of high-quality drinking water around the clock for more than 330,000 residents of the Truckee Meadows.