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SOUTH JORDAN, Utah, Oct. 22, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — South Jordan City is doing additional tests on its water after a resident reported using a commercial test strip and detecting the presence of the harmful compound Chromium 6 in local water.
“Our residents’ safety is a top priority in South Jordan City and within 24 hours we got results from an independent lab that showed ‘non-detectable’ amounts of Chromium 6,” said Rachael Van Cleave, the City’s public information officer, in a prepared statement.
“While the results came up negative for Chromium 6, South Jordan City takes resident concerns about reported skin issues seriously, so the City invited Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District as a third party to do their own independent testing.”
The city is also collecting samples at 14 additional sites today and sending them to an independent lab, the statement said. South Jordan will be testing at distribution sites in and out of the homes of residents.
The South Jordan statement said additional tests to be performed on Tuesday include:
- PH testing
- Alkalinity testing
- Full metal testing
- Additional Chromium 6 testing
- Additional Chlorine* and Fluoride testing
“We want to leave no stone unturned so our residents can feel safe and have confidence in the quality of their water,” Van Cleave said.
South Jordan City has reached out to the Salt Lake County Health Department, the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District, the State Department of Water Quality and other partners in an effort to get answers as quickly as possible for residents, the statement said.
Chromium 6 — more formally known as hexavalent chromium — first came into public consciousness after legal clerk turned consumer activist Erin Brockovich filed a lawsuit against Pacific Gas and Electric Company after she discovered high levels of the compound to be sickening California communities.
According to the Clean Water Act website, Chromium 6 can enter drinking water sources through discharges of dye and paint pigments, wood preservatives, chrome plating wastes, and leaching from hazardous waste sites.
Mr Gephart
Something is causing the residence of a relatively confined area to develop an illness so if its not the water what else in that area could it be?
Because in any chemical incident you always have those patients that will develop more severe reactions. So it’s best if you find out who or what is responsible and quickly.