Sacramento residents now can find out exactly what’s in their water thanks to the new Drinking Water Quality Data Portal launched by the City’s Depart of Utilities.
Using data visualization, the portal provides residents with comprehensive results from the City’s safe water testing, including specific levels of various substances.
“Our main goal at the Department of Utilities is to deliver high quality drinking water,” said Bill Busath, Utilities director. “The new data portal provides a one-stop source for in-depth data on the drinking water we produce for our customers.”
The City is required to meet stringent drinking water regulations mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the State Water Resources Control Board in accordance with the Safe Drinking Water Act and Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.
Water is regularly tested at numerous points throughout the City’s service area to ensure and demonstrate compliance with these regulations.
Residents are encouraged to visit sacramentowaterquality.com to learn more about the following:
- Types of water testing the City performs
- Substances frequently monitored such as chlorine, iron and lead
- Explanations of scientific and regulatory terminology
Sacramento’s Mayor and Council in 2017 asked the Department of Utilities to develop a more transparent way to address customer inquiries about the safety of drinking water.
As a result, the DOU, in partnership with SumSoft and Lucy & Company, developed the data portal to help customers understand their drinking water more thoroughly.
Approximately 80 percent of the City’s water supply is surface water from the Sacramento and American Rivers. The remaining 20 percent comes from area groundwater wells.
Groundwater is treated on site at the wells, while surface water is treated at the E.A. Fairbarin and Sacramento River Water Treatment plants located on the American and Sacramento Rivers. After it is treated, drinking water travels through some of the 1,700 miles of pipe network to residents’ homes.