From rivers and reservoirs Metropolitan delivers quality
It is often under valued and frequently even less appreciated, but the water in Southern California is among the highest in quality in the world.
In this modern craze and economic boon of resale bottle water, many of us are not aware of the quality of water that runs from our tap, in our apartments, homes, parks and schools.
Half of the drinking water in China (population of 1,433,783,686) is contaminated and the well chronicled water crisis of Flint, Michigan has sound the alarm in municipalities throughout America.
Thankfully for citizens in Inglewood and throughout the region the wholesale water is produced by The Metropolitan Water District.
Metropolitan has been the primary water provider for Southern California for 80 years.
Using advanced treatment technologies, sophisticated monitoring devices, while adhering strict federal, state and local law guidelines, Metropolitan has managed to provide some of the highest quality water in the world.
It is also one of the largest water agencies worldwide. The sources of its water are the Colorado River and Northern California through the State Water Project, a water storage and delivery system of reservoirs, aqueducts, power plants and pumping plants extending more than 700 miles—two-thirds the length of California.
Metropolitan imports more than half the water used by nearly 19 million consumers in its six-county service area.
You are more than liking consuming water produce by Metropolitan, but you are not receiving a water bill from the agency because Metropolitan is a wholesale water provider to 26 member agencies and 130 subagencies.
To ensure the delivery of a safe and reliable water supply, Metropolitan operates five water treatment plants and tests its water for nearly 400 constituents and performs about 250,000 water quality tests per year on samples gathered from throughout its vast distribution system. Analysis of these samples is undertaken at Metropolitan’s state-of-the art water quality laboratory.
Among the regions covered by Metropolitan are Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties.
The agency owns and operates an extensive water system including: the Colorado River Aqueduct, 16 hydroelectric facilities, nine reservoirs, 819 miles of large-scale pipes and five water treatment plants. Four of these treatment plants are among the 10 largest plants in the world.
In fact, Metropolitan is the largest distributor of treated drinking water in the United States. The District imports water from the Feather River in Northern California and the Colorado River to supplement local supplies. It also helps its member agencies develop water recycling, storage and other local resource programs to provide additional supplies and conservation programs to reduce regional demands.
So, the next time you visit your local market and decide to purchase bottled water for what appears to be a discount price, ask yourself if the water you are purchasing is better quality than what you are receiving from your tap?
The truth of the matter is none of the bottled water sold for resale meets or exceeds any of stringent tests that Metropolitan provides to its vast distributors. Your best cup might just flow from the faucet.
