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Re: chloramine (was Aquatic Plants Digest V2 #1102)
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Date: Wed, 26 Nov 97 12:55:41 -0800
> From: gomberg at wcf_com
> Subject: Re: Aquatic Plants Digest V2 #1101
>
> On 11/26/97 at 03:48 p, Aquatic-Plants-Owner at actwin_com (Aquatic
> Plants Digest) said:
>
> > Apparently the tap water here in San Francisco has chloramines
> >added.
>
> Not so.
Careful Dave,
A *lot* of fish have been killed in recent years because of that
erroneous belief. So far, it has depended mostly on whether the
Hetch-Hetchy water has been through Crystal Springs reservoir (or for
how long) on its way to SF.
EPA used to require any water district with 500,000 customers or more to
add chloramine. Period. SF just slipped under the limit, apparently.
San Jose (Santa Clara Valley Water District) did not, so they have to
add it. Any time turbidity of the Hetch-Hetchy gets high (drought times)
they run the SF water through San Jose area reservoirs to settle, then
treat it and send it on up the peninsula to Crystal Springs. The result
has been dead fish from Santa Clara to S. San Francisco. *No one* was
warned about this!
This year, they are going after smaller distributors, and both East-Bay
MUD and Alameda County Water District will be adding chloramine by the
beginning of the year. That is *soon*! I would bet that SF is not going
to get out of it for long. EBMUD was kind enough to warn customers, but
I haven't seen any major public announcement by Alameda, so far.
Until the controversy over the carcinogenic breakdown products of
chloramine is resolved, I'm not about to drink the tap water any more.
My fish and I only get carbon-filtered water, or they get a generous
dose of Amquel o/e to neutralize the chlorine *and* the ammonia of the
chloramine.
I advise any SF fishkeepers to start doing the same. Folks in other
cities "without chloramine" take heed. Call your water-district
engineer.
Wright
--
Wright Huntley, Fremont CA, USA, 510 494-8679 huntley at ix_netcom.com
"Subvert the dominant paradigm!"