Category: Clean Water

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Welcome

Dear Valued Customer,

Monte Vista Water District (MVWD) is dedicated to serving the highest quality water to our customers. We are proud to report that last year, as in years past,

your tap water met all federal and state drinking water health standards.

We hope you will take some time to read this Annual Water Quality Report, which details the quality of the water provided by MVWD, where it comes from,

what it contains and how it compares to federal and state standards. You will also learn about the efforts and challenges involved in providing high-quality

drinking water. For example, stricter standards have led to the expansion of MVWD’s treatment process to enhance the quality of water delivered to your

home or business.

MVWD is committed to providing this information to you because we share an appreciation for the value and importance of clean drinking water for our

community. Together with informed consumers, we can protect our drinking water supplies. For more information on your water supply sources, water

quality, and water distribution system, we invite you to visit the “Your Water” section of our website, www.mvwd.org.

Sincerely,

MVWD Board of Directors MVWD General Manager

Sandra S. Rose, President Philip L. Erwin, Director Justin Scott-Coe

G. Michael Milhiser, Vice President Tony Lopez, Director

Manny Martinez, Board Auditor

“Dedicated to Quality, Service, and Innovation”

2020 Annual Water Quality Report

MVWD obtains its drinking water supply from the

following sources:

S Groundwater: Over many years, water that falls on the ground travels

through the soil, is naturally filtered and collects in “aquifers” hundreds

of feet below the earth’s surface. Groundwater is pumped from the ground

through production wells, disinfected, and distributed to customers. In

2020, approximately 86.7% of MVWD’s water supply was produced

from a series of aquifers known collectively as the Chino Groundwater

Basin.

S Imported Surface Water: Water from rivers and streams in northern

California is collected and transported through the California Aqueduct to

Southern California. MVWD’s imported water supply is treated at the

Agua de Lejos Treatment Plant in the city of Upland prior to distribution to customers. In 2020, approximately 11% of MVWD’s water supply

was imported from northern California.

S City of Upland: Upland’s water supply originates from a local

mountain and canyon runoff, groundwater, and imported water. In 2020,

MVWD received approximately 2.3% of its water supply from San Antonio

Water Company through Upland’s water system.

For more information about MVWD’s water supply sources, visit

www.mvwd.org and follow the “Your Water” link.

MVWD Water Treatment and Testing

State-of-the-art technologies are used to treat and test the water served to

MVWD’s customers. To ensure proper disinfection, MVWD adds chlorine in

the form of sodium hypochlorite, a chemical similar to household bleach,

to the water supply produced by its groundwater wells. The chlorine kills

harmful bacteria and viruses that might enter the system via a broken main

or well contamination. Treated water from the Agua de Lejos Treatment

Plant and the city of Upland’s distribution system is introduced directly into

MVWD’s distribution system.

Groundwater produced by the majority of MVWD’s wells requires minimal

treatment prior to distribution. However, the groundwater basin from which

MVWD draws water has areas of high concentrations of nitrates, a salt that

at certain levels may pose a health risk to vulnerable populations (see below).

One of MVWD’s newest wells is equipped with an ion-exchange treatment

facility that removes nitrates from the pumped groundwater. MVWD also

operates three nitrate blending facilities that ensure nitrate levels in water

entering the distribution system meets drinking water requirements.

MVWD safeguards the distribution system by actively monitoring for 88

contaminants. MVWD collects water samples from 16 California State Water

Resources Control Board-approved locations evenly dispersed throughout

our distribution system every week, as well as from each of the District’s

active wells each month.

Your Drinking Water Sources

The sources of drinking water (both tap water and bottled water) include

rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells. As water travels

over the surface of the land or through the ground, it dissolves naturally-occurring

minerals and, in some cases, radioactive material, and can pick up

substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity.

Contaminants that may be present in source water include:

S Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria that may come from

sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife.

S Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals that can be naturally

occurring or result from urban stormwater runoff, industrial or domestic

wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining, or farming.

S Pesticides and herbicides that may come from a variety of sources such

as agriculture, urban stormwater runoff, and residential uses.

S Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic

chemicals that are by-products of industrial processes and petroleum

production, and can also come from gas stations, urban stormwater

runoff, agricultural application, and septic systems.

S Radioactive contaminants that can be naturally occurring or be the result

of oil and gas production and mining activities.

In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and the State Water Resources Control Board

(State Water Board) prescribe regulations that limit the number of certain

contaminants in water provided by public water systems. State Water Board

regulations also establish limits for contaminants in bottled water that provide

the same protections for public health.

Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to

contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of

contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk.

More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be

obtained by calling the U.S. EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-

4791).

Source water assessments were conducted in 2002 and 2008 to determine

the contamination vulnerabilities of MVWD’s active wells. The sources

are considered most vulnerable to the following activities associated with

contaminants detected in the water supply: high-density housing and

commercial complexes, parks, and schools, graveyards, grazing, sewer

collection systems, automobile body shops, and industrial sites. In addition,

the sources are considered most vulnerable to these activities: gas stations,

dry cleaners, mining operations, hospitals, parking, and transportation, above

ground storage tanks, and permitted waste discharges. You may request

a more detailed summary of the assessment by contacting the State

Water Board sanitary engineer for MVWD at (909) 383-4328 or MVWD at

(909) 624-0035.

Stay Informed

MVWD encourages customers to stay informed by attending our regularly

scheduled Board of Directors meetings, which are held on the 2nd and 4th

Wednesdays of each month, 6:30 p.m., at MVWD’s offices located at 10575

Central Avenue, Montclair. Meeting agendas can be found on the MVWD

website at www.mvwd.org. A time for public comment is included on each

meeting’s agenda.

Questions?

If you have any questions regarding this report, please contact Bill Schwartz,

Director of Engineering, Operations and Maintenance, at (909) 624-0035.

¿Necesita este informe traducido al español?

Este informe contiene información muy importante sobre su agua potable.

Tradúzcalo o hable con alguien que lo entienda bien. Para conseguir copias

de este informe traducidas en español, llame al (909) 624-0035 o visite

www.mvwd.org/reporte.

2020 Annual Water Quality Report

MVWD Water Sources

www.mvwd.org

10575 Central Avenue • Post Office Box 71

Montclair, California 91763