By SHEL SEGAL
The water in the city of Sierra Madre might be brown, but it is safe to drink, city officials said on Monday.
In a meeting with Beacon Media Inc., Bruce Inman, public works director for the city, said the browning of the water was being caused by iron oxide or rust. He said that it is harmless and the Los Angeles County Department of Health has deemed the water as safe.
Inman added the pipes in Sierra Madre just got used to groundwater, and when that was changed there was a reaction in the water being delivered.
“The water system that has been in place for many years is accustomed to the chemistry of the water that we have been serving, the groundwater that we have been pumping out of the ground,” Inman said. “It’s developed a very delicate balance. When we switched water supplies that balance was disturbed.”
Inman added while the water doesn’t look like it just came from a mountain stream, it won’t hurt you.
“It doesn’t look good, it doesn’t smell good, but we’re not trying to fool anybody,” he said. “We’re not happy the water is like that. We have been advised by the health department that it is not unsafe. Basically, we’re talking aesthetic issues here.”
Sierra Madre City Manager Elaine Aguilar said not everyone in the city has colored water, just those on the city’s perimeter bordering either Arcadia, Pasadena or the Angeles National Forest.
“It’s not every one of our water customers,” Aguilar said. “We do have a few areas in town where our water mains sort of dead end, where there’s some residual colored water. We know we have a few areas around town where they still have some problems with colored water. Most customers are not having a problem, but we do know that there are some out there, to be fair.”
She added she is hoping the city will solve the problem soon.
“We are in the process, hopefully at the next city council meeting, to get the council’s authorization to work with an expert to see what we can do to finally resolve this problem,” she said.
This doesn’t sit well with some residents, such as Cynthia Gitt. Gitt lives on Michillinda Avenue and said she doesn’t buy the city’s answer regarding the water in town.
“I did not think his explanation was correct,” Gitt said. “It’s brown, it’s gray, it smells metallic. We can’t drink it … I can’t turn off the water. I don’t have the option of turning off the water and going to a desert garden.”
(Shel Segal can be reached at ssegal@beaconmedianews.com. He can be followed via Twitter @segallanded.)
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