They’re toxic, slow to break down, tied to health problems — and if you’re one of the 200,000 customers served by Sweetwater Authority, they’re in your water.
It’s been more than a year since the southern San Diego County agency first disclosed finding what are known as “forever chemicals” in its main reservoir. Officials have since found recent testing shows some lower levels.
Officials say the water is safe to drink — but if concentrations of the chemicals continue to increase, the authority may have to increase customer rates to address the problem. Agency officials have been holding community workshops about the chemicals and say they’re committed to being transparent.
If you live in National City, Bonita or parts of Chula Vista, you may be impacted. Here’s what to know.
What’s in the water?: The forever chemicals in the agency’s water are also commonly referred to as PFAS, more specifically, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. They’re human-made compounds that are slow to break down and can be found in a variety of everyday items from cookware, water-resistant clothing and hygiene products.
Of the 29 PFAS the authority is required to test for, five were found in the Sweetwater Reservoir and at the Perdue Treatment Plant in Spring Valley.
Experts have labeled some of the PFAS as possible carcinogens. Scientific studies have linked the chemicals to reproductive issues and hormonal disruption.
Test results: As of testing conducted on Jan. 8, PFAS levels in the Sweetwater Reservoir are the lowest they have been since early last year. Still, results show that two of the chemicals are close to surpassing state health advisory response levels.
New Environmental Protection Agency rules will go into effect in 2029, establishing federal limits for PFAS concentrations in drinking water. Agencies like Sweetwater Authority will need to fully implement mitigation strategies and notify the public whenever the limits are exceeded.
The agency has already gone beyond state and federal requirements, conducting and alerting customers in 2024 about the presence of PFAS.
From the Documenters
This story came in part from notes taken by Jennifer Hua, a San Diego Documenter, at a Sweetwater Authority Community Advisory Work Group meeting earlier this year. The Documenters program trains and pays community members to document what happens at public meetings.
A human-made problem: PFAS do not occur naturally. They’re “persistent in all of our consumer products and in the environment,” Justin Brazil, Sweetwater Authority’s director of water quality, told inewsource.
Drinking water systems are passive receivers” of certain PFAS and their presence in water, air and soil can be linked to manufacturing, firefighting activity, supply line leaks and airplane crashes, according to the EPA.
Brazil pointed to Sweetwater Reservoir’s location as a potential reason for the accumulation of PFAS.
“You look at Sweetwater Reservoir and of course we’re surrounded in a very urban community,” he said.
He also acknowledged there is a chance that PFAS existed in the water before the 2024 results. The agency conducted testing in the mid-2010s, he said, but could only detect larger concentrations at that time due to lower “analytical capability.”
Attempts to fix: Sweetwater Authority has hired two environmental engineering companies to help identify possible long-term solutions.
One of the companies, Carollo Engineers Inc., will evaluate the viability of long-term PFAS treatment under a pilot study. The study is set to conclude by the end of the year.
A $40 million price tag: That’s how much Carollo Engineers has estimated it could cost the agency to address PFAS. Officials are considering multiple ideas.
Trying water blending: Brazil cited blending from water transfers from the authority’s Loveland Reservoir near Alpine as a possible option to lower PFAS concentrations. Right now, the agency is typically using water transfers to secure water supply and if there is heavy rainfall, not to combat PFAS.
But after the agency conducted a major transfer in December, all five PFAS concentrations dropped by as many as 5.7 parts per trillion.
Angel Marquez, Sweetwater Authority’s public affairs manager, said that the water secured from this transfer will save customers “anywhere between maybe $12-15 million over the next year.”
Still, water blending comes at a price, especially if it involves importing water from outside of the agency’s own supply. Sweetwater Authority purchases about 30% of its water from the county Water Authority, and costs are rising.
“So now you’re talking millions of dollars per year in additional water purchases if you don’t have local water available to solve the problem versus if you go the treatment route,” Brazil said.
Building infrastructure: Such a treatment route — whether a new plant or upgraded infrastructure — could be more cost-effective than water transfers over time, according to Brazil.
“You pay that capital cost one time, and then, of course, you have ongoing operation and maintenance costs, but it’s not going to be as much long-term as continually just purchasing imported water from the Colorado river and state project water,” he said.
More groundwater?: Officials say increasing their groundwater supply could also help. The agency has wells in National City and the Reynolds Groundwater Desalination Facility in Chula Vista. Brazil said the agency has had early discussions about developing another desalination facility in their service area, though he acknowledged it’s a costly project.
“If we can develop more groundwater sources, then that’s water we don’t have to purchase from a water authority when water is not available,” he said.
Bills, bills, bills: How does this affect customers’ pockets? Marquez said that depends on federal and state investment, but that residents could see a 6-12% increase in their rates.
The authority has started a PFAS mitigation fund with money awarded through a settlement from a class action lawsuit that the agency joined against manufacturers of PFAS.
It expects $10 million from that settlement over the course of the next eight years. It has received $3.7 million as of October, with about half of that going to Carollo Engineers and Tetra Tech, the other company that Sweetwater Authority hired.
Even with this expected revenue, Brazil said that the agency would still need more to maintain customer rates — currently the lowest in the county.
“When you’re talking about us having to be in compliance by April 2029 — I mean, we need the support now, not later,” he said.
Learn more: Catch up on a presentation the authority gave at a Community Advisory Work Group Meeting earlier this year.
It also has more information on its website.
Type of Content
News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
