Edwards water safety report to be released

  • Published
  • By Diane Betzler
  • 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  The report is out and the verdict is in, Edwards' tap water continues to be safe to drink, according to an annual report on water quality put out by 2nd Lt. Nadia Halim, 95th Aerospace Medicine Squadron, environmental element chief for Bioenvironmental.

The report comes as no surprise to the bioenvironmental folks who say they have yet to run into any health problems with the drinking water on base.

"I've been testing the water here since 2006 and have never run into any health issues," said Jeanette Van Norden, 95 AMDS, environmental health technician. Ms. Van Norden said when she came on board at Edwards she was told by her predecessor that the drinking water is perfect.

Even though the water quality is not problematic, the bioenvironmental group is required by the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act to publish an annual consumer confidence report on the base tap water. For an in-depth look at the report look for the 2009 Annual Consumer Confidence Report on Tap Water Quality in next week's edition of Desert Eagle.

The base gets its drinking water from two sources, on-base ground water wells and the Antelope Valley East Kern Water Agency, the lieutenant explained. Both water sources, she said, are continually monitored for contaminants.

"There are nine ground water wells on base that supply the base drinking water system and the water from the wells are routed to a booster station where it gets chlorinated before being pumped into the base distribution system," Lieutenant Halim said.

She explained that chlorination is the process used to disinfect the water and control microbial growth. Water received from AVEK goes through its own water agency's purification process before being routed here. Once here it receives additional chlorine to ensure microbial control is maintained as the water travels through a water main to blend with the base well water.

Besides the regular scheduled testing, bioenvironmental personnel conduct additional testing anytime there is a requirement from the state, Lieutenant Halim said. The lieutenant and her staff are also responsible for other health surveys.

"We do indoor air quality tests whenever there is a request from the occupational health doctor in the flight surgeon's office," Lieutenant Halim said. "Usually a request to test the air quality comes from base doctors."