Oceanside, CA, March 30, 2021 –The City of Oceanside provides our community with high quality, safe, and reliable drinking water. It is Oceanside’s top priority to ensure our drinking water meets all federal, state and local water quality regulations and the City regularly exceeds these standards. The City of Oceanside has not received any water quality violations from the state or federal regulators including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, California Department of Drinking Water, and the State Water Resources Control Board Division of Drinking Water in over eight years. A report and article were recently published that inaccurately represented Oceanside’s water quality. After discussing the inaccuracies with the author, they have decided to retract and recalculate the report rankings.
The City of Oceanside’s Water Utilities Department is responsible for treating the City’s drinking water to ensure viruses, bacteria and pathogens are removed, and is continuously able to provide clean water to the Oceanside community. The Water Utilities Department staff are highly-trained individuals who are required to hold certifications in order to operate treatment facilities and test drinking water to ensure regulatory compliance.
Each year on July 1, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires all water providers to produce a Consumer Confidence Report (CCR), also known as an annual drinking water quality report. The CCR provides the Oceanside community with detailed information about the quality of Oceanside’s drinking water, including levels of contaminants, treatment process, where Oceanside’s water comes from, and details of any violations that occurred in the previous year. The 2019 annual water quality report is available on the City’s website, and the 2020 water quality report will be available on July 1, 2021. The City of Oceanside had no drinking water violations in 2019 or 2020.
“The City of Oceanside is proud to supply clean, safe, and reliable water services to the Oceanside community. Drinking water is highly regulated by both state and federal regulations that require Oceanside staff to regularly test and monitor our drinking water to ensure the safety of our community,” said Cari Dale, the City’s Water Utilities Director. “Our annual CCR is the best resource for Oceanside residents to find accurate and reliable information regarding Oceanside’s water quality.”
Approximately 90% of the water we use in Oceanside is imported from hundreds of miles away, either from Northern California or the Colorado River and purchased from the San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA). The City operates the Robert A. Weese Filtration Plant that can treat up to 25 million gallons per day of untreated water purchased from the SDCWA. This plant uses direct filtration; a method of treating water that consists of the addition of coagulant chemicals, flash mixing, coagulation, flocculation, and filtration.
The City is extremely fortunate to have the Mission Basin Aquifer, which currently supplies about 10% of Oceanside’s drinking water supply. The Mission Basin Groundwater Purification Facility extracts and treats water from the aquifer using reverse osmosis. This treatment process utilizes ultrafine filters to remove salts and other large particles from the groundwater. The water is then treated again utilizing a Granular Activated Carbon Filtration System which removes organic chemicals and other contaminates commonly found in groundwater.
Once the water is treated at Oceanside treatment facilities, it is distributed throughout the City’s distribution system to the Oceanside community. Highly-trained and certified staff continuously monitor and test water during the treatment process and throughout our distribution system. Oceanside Water Utilities staff conduct hands-on testing both in the field and in Oceanside’s state-certified laboratory. Staff test for over 90 different substances to ensure Oceanside’s drinking water is of the highest quality and meets the required state and federal regulations.
To learn more about the Oceanside Water Utilities Department visit www.ci.oceanside.ca.us.
About the City of Oceanside: The City of Oceanside is located in northern San Diego County with a population of approximately 178,000. Oceanside’s vibrant coastal community includes MiraCosta Community College, the world-renowned 1,601-foot pier and 1,000-slip Harbor. Oceanside is located 83 miles south of the city of Los Angeles and just 35 miles north of San Diego. The City of Oceanside offers outstanding public amenities such as 30 city parks, four community recreation centers, two municipal swim centers, two senior centers, two city-owned golf courses and 3.5 miles of public beaches. More than 6,000 businesses operate here, including Genentech Pharmaceuticals, TE Connectivity, Hydranautics, Nitto Denko, Gilead Sciences, Hobie Cat and Tri-City Medical Center, as well as emerging craft and entrepreneurial ventures. For more information, visit www.ci.oceanside.ca.us.
