Sources of tap water vs. rainwater

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 2011-04-05 12:44

First, great appreciation to the staff for all your work in keeping the public informed. This is an incredible public service.

Regarding the validity of tap water measurements: As best I can determine, UCB gets it's tap water from EBMUD, which gets its water from sources far from Berkeley. The sources are apparently in the Sierra Nevada mountains, where there is record snow pack this year. This raises a couple of problems in comparing Berkeley rain water with tap water. 1. The rainfall in the Sierra may not have even reached the water sources constituting the tap water tested; for example, the recent rains may still be unmelted snow; 2. The amount of dilution is impossible to tell, as there may be a delay in transport (water "in the pipeline"); and 3. The rainfall a hundred or more miles away may not have the same content as that in Berkeley.

Although inconvenient, a more valid comparison would be to take samples from local reservoirs (Marin County has several) to compare to air/rainfall.

Thanks again for your good work.

Gerry

‹ Email warning of radioactive rain was released by Fire department but later labeled as hoax email Cs-134 and Cs-137 in milk? ›

This seems legit

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 2011-04-07 08:08.

This seems to be a valid question. I don't see diatribes or conspiratorial rants. I see legitimate questions. Anyone care to answer?

Valid Comparison

Submitted by newport beach houses (not verified) on Thu, 2011-04-07 01:24.

I am sure a more valid comparison would be to take samples from local reservoirs (Marin County has several) to compare to air/rainfall

Response? Action?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 2011-04-06 22:44.

Is anyone on the team willing to tackle this problem? Or at least acknowledge that there is a disconnect between local rainwater measurements and distant tap water measurements. Many communities in the Bay Area, from the Central Valley and Walnut Creek to Mill Valley to San Jose do not get their water from the far away frozen Sierras. Can you test ANY local reservoir water (or even Lake Temescal or Grand Lake for that matter)? How about after tonight/tomorrow morning's predicted rains? Would it help if someone brought you samples?

Agreed

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 2011-04-06 09:57.

Thanks UCB for this data and your hard work. I am a little confused by the update today as well where you state that tap water is what we should be focusing on. Why is rainwater not important? Is it ok to drink this rainwater? Can I bathe in it if I collect rainwater? I use solar power and rainwater for a lot of my h2o needs.What about people who had to work in the rain? What about sludge that is collected from water treatment plants after a rain. Would not this sludge contain higher radiation as it did in places like scotland? Did it not drop into reservoirs where we will eventually be drinking tapwater that is made of rainwater? I just feel that discarding the highest measurement, the one found in rainwater to be flip. I hope someone knowledgeable responds to some of these questions.

comment from the team?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 2011-04-06 08:07.

In light of the announcement on the log page entitled "Response to some misleading claims about our measurements", could someone from the team comment on the points here?

This is a very good point.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 2011-04-05 12:59.

This is a very good point. My area has a lake/reservoir system that was mostly recarged by the recent heavy rains. I was lulled into a faulse sense of security by the numbers reported here. Bottom line, depending on where your water comes from, you could be getting water that is closer to the rain water than the drinking water figures here.

Taking one sample from one location can be very misleading.