I just read about the high Chromium-6 levels in Kingman and specifically in Golden Valley.

https://www.ewg.org/interactive-maps/2016-chromium6-system.php?pws_id=AZ0408020

Chromium-6 testing

And here’s KINGMAN:

Other cities like LHC are MUCH lower.  Look at Castle Rock!  What / where is POE 5?

The EWG article that explains why you should care:
https://www.ewg.org/research/chromium-six-found-in-us-tap-water

… In 2008, a two-year study by the National Toxicology Program found that drinking water with chromium-6, or hexavalent chromium, caused cancer in laboratory rats and mice.[3] Based on this and other animal studies, in 2010, scientists at the respected and influential California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment concluded that ingestion of tiny amounts of chromium-6 can cause cancer in people, a conclusion affirmed by state scientists in New Jersey and North Carolina….

As usual, the industry resorted to falsifying studies:

… In 2001, as state scientists conducted a risk assessment to guide the regulation, an epidemiologist named Jay Beaumont noticed something fishy. A Chinese scientist had revised a key study of chromium-6 in drinking water, reversing his original finding of a strong link to stomach cancer. Some members of a “blue-ribbon” panel advising the state cited the revised study as evidence against a strong regulation. But when Beaumont tried to find out why the scientist had changed his mind, it turned out he was dead.

Beaumont learned that the study was rewritten not by the original author, but by consultants hired by PG&E to help defend the Brockovich case. Before the Chinese scientist died, they paid him a token amount [26] for access to his original data, manipulated it to hide the link to stomach cancer, and published the revised study in a scientific journal without disclosing their or PG&E’s involvement. …”

As usual, corporations can engage in this fraud with impunity!

So I looked up the Meadview, the Joshua Tree Water Company:

http://azsdwis.azdeq.gov/DWW_EXT/JSP/NonTcrSampleResults.jsp?tinwsys_is_number=1630&tinwsys_st_code=AZ&tsasampl_is_number=1633856&tsasampl_st_code=AZ

Unfortunately, there’s no separate test for Chromium-6 and it doesn’t show ppb, so I have no idea what this means.

Meadview Chromium

Click on image to enlarge

I definitely would NOT drink the Castlerock water without filtering it out and I have no idea how difficult it is and what kind of filter is required.

My email to our supervisor Jean Bishop:

6/17/18

Supervisor Bishop,

Has the County looked into the cause of the high levels of Chromium-6, especially in the Castle Rock water?

[URL to this post]

Is the County going to do something about it? Warn the residents? Recommend a specific filter?

Much appreciate more info!

Thank you,

Christine Baker

I will update with the response.

UPDATE 6/19/18:

Supervisor Bishop wrote yesterday:

Christine,

Gary Lasham, Public Works,  provided the below information.

As you can see we barely register a detection of Chromium, 0.033% of the MCL (Maximum Contaminate Level).

It should be noted that all well waters have some level of chromium in them.

Per our most recent Consumer Confidence Report Chromium is not an issue in GVID.

Inorganic Chemicals
(IOC)		 MCL

Violation

Y or N

 Running Annual Average (RAA) OR Highest Level Detected Range of All Samples

(Low-High)

 MCL MCLG Sample Month & Year Likely Source of Contamination
Chromium (ppb) N .033 100 100 02/2017 Discharge from steel and pulp mills; Erosion of natural deposits

​

So here’s my email to Gary Lasham:

6/19/18

Hello Mr. Lasham,

Below is my email with supervisor Bishop and before I contact EWG regarding the alleged high Chromium-6 levels, I would like to confirm that we are talking about the same water.

I don’t know how “GVID” relates to the EWG test results.

[URL to this post]

Do you know what the Sample Points in the EWG chart mean?

DSMRT from POE 5 (61 ppb)

EPTDS from POE 5 (79 ppb)

Is there info online somewhere that identifies all these Sample Facilities and Sample Points listed by EWG?

It’s inexplicable that the .033 ppb on your test is so much LOWER than the lowest EWG result, and you even include ALL Chromium, not just Chromium-6.

I found out about the EWG Chromium-6 testing because the page was linked in a FaceBook discussion about someone wanting to move to Kingmann / Golden Valley and he was advised not to drink the water. So if the EWG tests are false / faked — whatever, they need to be corrected as it impacts negatively on Kingman / Golden Valley and prospective newcomers might choose NOT to move here.

And residents already living here might waste a lot of money on filters they don’t need.

Greatly appreciate any light you can shed on this mystery!

Thank you,

Christine Baker

I’ll update again with the response.  This is pretty weird!

And the message I submitted to EWG through their contact form at

https://www.ewg.org/support-our-work/ways-to-donate/stay-touch

Subject: Kingman AZ high Chromium-6 levels denied by Mohave County

Hello,

You can see my blog post about the EWG tests for Chromium-6 at
[This URL]

I also added my communications with our supervisor Jean Bishop and she provided Mohave County test results MUCH lower than your lowest result, and it even contains all Chromium, not just Chromium-6.

This seems impossible and I’ll greatly appreciate your assistance with figuring out what’s going on with our water.

Thanks!

Christine Baker

I’ll update with the response.

A very quick response from the County’s Steven Latoski, director Mohave County Public Works:

Good Afternoon Ms. Baker:

I am writing as follow up to your recent inquiry on GVID tested and reported levels of chromium.  Please note that the 2017 Consumer Confidence Report filed with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality finds that – through a December 2017 water quality test – the level of chromium stood at 12 ppb, which is below the Maximum Contaminant Level of 100 ppb.

The report is attached for your reference.

Thank you.

Steve

Steven P. Latoski, P.E., PTOE
Director
Mohave County Public Works

The attached report: GVID CCR Report for 2017

Click on image to enlarge

Click on image to enlarge

So we went from .033 ppb to 12 ppb in one day.
That’s 363 time more!  How does THAT happen?

Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL): The highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water

Maximum Contaminant Level Goal MCLG): The level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health
So, I conclude that Arizona could not possibly care less about save drinking water because:

1) They don’t test separately for Chromium-6

2)  The level of containment is 100 while California says 02.

Where do we go from here?

I have a few questions for Mr. Latoski.

And we’ll see whether EWG responds.

My followup questions to Mr. Latoski:

6/19/18

Mr. Latoski,

Thanks for the quick reply!

Unfortunately, I don’t see answers to my questions:

> I don’t know how “GVID” relates to the EWG test results.
>
> https://highdesertdirt.com/blog/2018/06/17/chromium-6-in-drinking-water/
>
> Do you know what the Sample Points in the EWG chart mean?
>
> DSMRT from POE 5 (61 ppb)
>
> EPTDS from POE 5 (79 ppb)
>
> Is there info online somewhere that identifies all these Sample
> Facilities and Sample Points listed by EWG?

The 2017 GVID report you attached shows Chromium at 12 ppb. Yesterday’s report showed .033 ppm.

How does Chromium go from .033 ppb to 12 ppb?

That’s 363 times more!

Of course it is all rather irrelevant because we don’t know whether it’s the harmless Chromium-3 or the cancer causing Chromium-6.

So the most important question:

Does Mohave County care about the health of its residents or merely about complying with obviously outdated MCL and MCLG limits?

As you know (if you read my post), California’s Public Health Goal for Chromium-6 is 0.02 ppb — NOT 100 ppb!

I’ll greatly appreciate your explanations!

Thanks,

Christine Baker

And this morning I had the response from Steven Latoski:

Good Morning Ms. Baker:

My apologies for not addressing all of your questions.

Please note that my office has not been contacted by EWG (Environmental Working Group), which is a non-profit environmental organization.  In reviewing the link provided, the GVID water system is not represented in the article.

The Consumer Confidence Report provided for GVID represents a Chromium Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 100 parts per billion (ppb).  This is a MCL set through federal and/or state regulations.  For more information, please see: https://www.epa.gov/dwstandardsregulations/chromium-drinking-water

In closing, as I am unfamiliar with EWG and their practices in representing tests and data, I cannot provide interpretations or draw conclusions from any information posted by the organization.  I thank you for your understanding in this regard.

Have a great day.

Kind regards,

Steve

There you have it

I had written to Jean Bishop:

“Has the County looked into the cause of the high levels of Chromium-6, especially in the Castle Rock water?”

They then provided this weird info about .033 ppm, the next day it was 12 ppm and now I find out they have NO CLUE what the EWG report is referring to.

I documented that Mohave County has ZERO interest in the health of the residents.

They will do NOTHING unless they are required by law.   If the EPA didn’t set federal drinking water standards, you’d be drinking sewage.

Our government’s ONLY goal is to keep sales tax low and to make the rich richer  — at YOUR expense.

Any voters here?

Update 6/22/18: 

I didn’t get a response from EWG.

Update 7/21/19:
EWG did eventually send an email, but it was so long ago and I can’t find the email.  Get so many emails from EWG.  Maybe I’ll remember a key term to search for.

And of course the County has done nothing and the people have done nothing.

This IS Mohave County, where mediocreness is the norm and nobody cares how we live and die.