PARADISE — Kyla Awalt unhooked the water tank she and her family depended on for clean water at their home in Paradise as soon as she got word that Paradise Irrigation District found no contamination at her service line.
She is among the utility’s customers who have officially had the drinking advisory lifted in the past few days, an important though tentative milestone for those seeking to rebuild in the town. The latest map identifies around forty locations that have received the all-clear, including coffee shops, emergency centers, businesses and homes. More are added regularly.
“It means showers; it means being able to fill up our swimming pool and have the kids enjoy that; it means huge cost savings because we don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on maintaining the water tank,” said Awalt about the all-clear from the utility. “It means some peace of mind.”
But, she added, her family would keep using bottled water for drinking until the whole system had been given the OK, as a safety precaution.
That could take a while. Paradise Irrigation District is testing every main and service line for volatile organic chemicals, including benzene, which had once been found at unsafe levels in around 40 percent of the system. Flushing has helped those numbers go down. Priority for testing is being given to standing homes and businesses and those who are rebuilding. Where test results show contamination above safe levels, PID is repairing the contaminated line and re-testing. Replacing all the contaminated piping could take years and millions of dollars, funding that PID is trying to secure from FEMA.
Many residents in Paradise are continuing to use water tanks, sometimes at great personal cost and sometimes with insurance money. Awalt, for example, sold her water tank to residents who had moved back to their cleaned lot in a trailer.
Officials from Paradise Irrigation District will provide a fuller update to the community at a meeting at 6 p.m. at the Paradise Alliance Church on July 15.
Many customers of Del Oro Water Company are still seeking clarity about their water. Some previous samples had shown benzene above safe levels, but Del Oro did not officially warn its customers whose water was not tested about the contamination. Many residents reported feeling sick after using and drinking the water, although that number has gone down as the system gets flushed. Del Oro is now testing samples from 10 percent of its addresses for benzene and other chemicals as part of a second phase of monitoring.
“Customers who would like to restore service to a lot burned in the Camp Fire need to be aware that Benzene testing is required before service will be restored,” said Janice Hanna, the director of corporate accounting & regulatory affairs at Del Oro, in an emailed statement. “Customers should be aware that until the test results show that Benzene is under the State’s maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 1.4 parts per billion (ppb), the water will be considered non-potable (NOT safe to drink).”
California’s MCL for benzene is one part per billion, and the federal government’s MCL for benzene is 5 parts per billion.
