Claim: Paramount has threatened to sue people who question its water quality … but at this meeting Paramount staff admitted that the water is contaminated and they couldn’t explain the testing numbers.
Fact: The City has, on very rare occasions, threatened to sue those who have spread baseless misinformation about the water supply system that could produce panic and fear in water customers.
Claim: A City staff member said that the aquifer where Paramount gets some of its water doesn’t respect city boundaries, that the cities of southeast LA. County get water from the same aquifer. In light of this, Paramount’s claim to have low PFAS in the water doesn’t make sense since surrounding cities like Downey have warned its residents about high PFAS contamination levels. If water in Downey is not safe, how can Paramount’s water be safe?
Fact: It is true that aquifers don’t respect city boundaries. How could they? But claiming that our testing numbers are inaccurate due to that fact is erroneous. Paramount’s PFAS numbers were detected at small concentration levels, and all of this testing is done by independent labs, who submit their findings to the State. Only after gaining approval from the State does the City receive and publish the results.
The City’s Consumer Confidence Report notes that the level of PFAS found in our water was two parts per trillion. This number represents a combined average from all three of Paramount’s active wells. That is how the State’s Drinking Water Division calculates overall numbers for a water system, using averages.
In reality, only one well in town contained PFAS – the other two had zero detection. The one well tested at 7.9 parts per trillion for PFAS, which is slightly above the 6.5 parts per trillion level that requires public notification. This is still a very low amount that does not necessitate any action. Regardless, out of an abundance of caution, the City shut down that well in 2020; it is still not operating.
Claim: Staff says they are not scientists, so they can’t answer why the testing numbers in Paramount’s water are much lower than the contaminated water in Downey. But if they are not scientists, how can they be so confident that the water is safe?
Fact: The City relies on scientists at the State Water Quality Control Board, Drinking Water Division for compliance of permit requirements, including water quality monitoring and lab analysis from independent labs approved by the State. Those labs, and the State of California, have consistently found that Paramount’s water meets all water quality standards and is safe for all uses.
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