My Work at Joshua Basin Water District

Four years ago, you and your neighbors elected me to represent you on the Joshua Basin Water District Board. Thank you.

When I talked with many of you back then, I told you how I believe ensuring healthy and resilient water supplies is crucial to maintaining our personal health and security and that of our community and local economy.

With this goal in mind, here are some of the issues I kept top of mind while I on the board, along with some key votes. (Jump to info about Chromium-6)

Key Votes

Voted yes to reduce by 50% a proposed rate increase in 2022
Voted yes to fund the replacement of aging infrastructure, much of it dating back to the 1960s. If we do not have a well-planned, phased replacement plan, our water infrastructure could crumble around us.
Voted No on the latest budget because it contained the purchase of a little-used $14,000 plot printer. The same documents could be printed externally for a fraction of the annual cost.

Housekeeping

Supported the firing of a corrupt general manager.
Probed a potential minor conflict of interest among service providers to the District, which led to a more open process in awarding these kind of contracts.

Climate Resilency

Researched and presented to the staff and directors a report on the hotter and dryer future expected to impact water issues in the Hi-Desert. Watch a video of that presentation.
Ensured the topic of climate resiliency was considered and included in current strategic plan in Sept 2024

Ratepayer Interests

Continually looked for ways the district could save you the ratepayer money via policy changes, and best practices borrowed from other districts.
Assisted customrs with finding the appropriate JBWD contact to resolve their issues.
Discussed with board and staff potential resolutions to chronic problems such as storm-water flooding

What I've Learned About

Chromium-6

Background

Chromium is an odorless and tasteless metallic element that is found naturally in many things, including rocks like we have locally in Joshua Tree. Hexavalent chromium occurs naturally in groundwater in the Mojave Desert from rock decomposition, and is not the type created by industry.

The Federal Environmental Protection Agency has a drinking water standard of 100 parts per billion (ppb) for total chromium. This includes all forms of chromium, including Chromium-6. Water systems test for total chromium levels because the different forms of chromium can potentially transform into each other in the water (and even in the human body.)

The current EPA standard is based on potential adverse dermatological effects over many years of inhaled chromium, such as allergic dermatitis (skin reactions). One EPA research study showed that rats orally exposed to 206 ppb daily of Chromium-6 of over their lifetime had mutations that caused cancer. (Note: that large amount of Chromium-6 is 20 times the new California state level.)

In 2024, California issued a new maximum contaminant level for Chromium-6, a "suspected carcinogen," in drinking water of 10 ppb, which is a tenth of the EPA standard. (The state’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, or OEHHA, has suggested a much more protective public health goal of 0.02 ppb.)

The most recent Water Quality Report for JBWD states our drinking water has a Total Chromium level of 24 ppb.

So What Now with Chromium-6?

The board of directors and the leadership of JBWD have discussed the issue many times since I've been on the board. JBWD is involved in researching potential solutions, and has run a pilot study of one removal technology. The biggest issue the District must resolve is the extraordinary expenses of treatment and the state's timeline for it.

Treatment Costs

The costs for JBWD to remove chromium from our water will likely cost 18 million for the treatment facilities, with annual maintenance costs of 750,000 according to data in the 2023 Rate Study (PDF).

Treatment of the naturally-occurring Chromium 6 Capital project cost estimate = $18 million (preliminary)
JBWD seeking grant & low-interest rate funding from the State Revolving Fund financing program
Projections assume $10M grant + $8M SRF Loan with ~$400K annual debt service
Annual operating & maintenance costs estimated at $750,000

What Can You Do?

I think we can all agree that we don't want any suspected carcinogens in our drinking water. It is going to take some time for JBWD to get mechanisms in place for treatment. In the meantime, you as a homeowner can immediately address chromium removal by implementing a reverse-osmosis filtration system.