New PFAS treatment facility in East Los Angeles

On January 28, Cal Water’s East Los Angeles District, in coordination with the California Water Association, hosted a ribbon-cutting and tour with Assemblymember Cristina Garcia, Montebello Mayor Kimberly Cobos-Cawthorne, Central Basin Water Association, Water Replenishment District, and Water Education with Latino Leaders to commemorate our new PFAS treatment facility. This facility, located in Montebello, Calif., is the first in the Central Basin and WRD area to be constructed specifically to treat for PFOS and PFOA in the water, as utilities prepare for eventual water quality standards to be set by regulators for the contaminants.

PFAS is a human-made compound that has been used in fire fighting foam as well as in the manufacturing of carpets, clothing, fabrics for furniture, paper packaging for food, and other materials (e.g., cookware) that are resistant to water, grease, or stains.

Although no Maximum Contaminant Level has been set for PFOS or PFOA, we already proactively tested all of our active water sources, so that we could better protect our customers. The Montebello well site was previously taken offline due to the presence of PFOS and PFOA. This treatment plant allows us to return the well to service, enhancing water supply reliability for our East Los Angeles District customers’ everyday and emergency needs, while ensuring they have water that will meet both current and future water quality standards.