Drinking Water Quality Across California

A Comparison Across University Campuses

Presenter: Lily Alvarez

Co-Presenter(s):
Hunter Santsche, Paige Ragsdale and Madison Templeton

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Department: Biology

Funding Source/Sponsor: Class Project

Screenshot URL: https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1hYWViTPzLtMiT8iWVBkmDymVF8ZmAY0m

Abstract:
We compared drinking water quality parameters and source/delivery infrastructures for five California universities in order to synthesize reported data that are publicly available. Two of the universities rely on well systems, whereas the remaining three draw on municipal sources. We found similar levels of dissolved lead, copper and chloride across the different schools. Data revealed that tap water at all universities met the federal maximum contaminant levels, however, some schools exceeded California’s public health standards for copper and lead. Our results indicate that the universities that utilize well water tend to have lower contaminant levels than those that draw on common municipal sources. These results improve our understanding of water quality as it relates to water source management across the state of California.