California has set a limit for the toxic heavy metal hexavalent chromium in drinking water. Advocates have called for a stricter limit, warning of health risks.
Orange County Water District works to clean polluted groundwater from decades of manufacturing
A water sample is tested for PFAS compounds at the Orange County Water District in 2019.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
April 1, 2021 4:07 PM PT
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Underneath Orange County is a hidden arterial highway that groundwater moves through before eventually finding its way into homes.
More than 70% of the water served in Orange County is from groundwater. But some of that water has become contaminated from industrial manufacturing when harmful chemicals that weren’t properly disposed of seeped down into the ground.
“Any area with a large amount of industrial activity, especially when it comes to machining, metalworking or military purposes, all of which kind of play a role in Orange County’s history, used a pretty significant amount of chemicals back before their disposal was particularly well-regulated,” said Chapman University chemistry professor Christopher Ki