Facts & Tips

News & Messages > Conservation > 2016 > May

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

IS MY WATER SAFE TO DRINK?
Water supplied by Best Road Mutual Water Company meets, or is within, the stringent State and Federal regulations. These regulations require close monitoring of all water supplies, and we must report a summary of water quality monitoring to our Membership each year. Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. Immuno-compromised persons, such as persons with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have undergone organ transplants, people with HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorders, some elderly, and infants can be particularly at risk from infections. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers.

U. S. Environmental Protection Agency and Center for Disease Control guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium and other microbiological contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791), the Drinking Water Contaminants page on the EPA website water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/index.cfm, and the California Department of Health Services web site www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/Pages/DDWEM.aspx .

HOW HARD IS OUR WATER?
Water hardness is a result of dissolved minerals such as calcium and magnesium and occurs naturally in our water supply. There are no distinctly defined levels of what constitutes hard or soft water. Typically, if the amount of dissolved Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) is above 130 ppm or 8 grains per gallon, water is considered hard and can cause scale to build up in pipes, on faucets, and leave white spots on dishware.

WHAT CAUSES MY WATER TO LOOK YELLOW/BROWN?
The surface water source sometimes has trace amounts of Dissolved Iron and Manganese. When this water is treated and disinfected, these constituents precipitate out causing a yellow/brown color in the water, usually most visible in white bathtubs, sinks or toilets. This condition does not constitute a health risk and flushing your water pipes will usually remedy the situation. An additional source of color can be naturally occurring organic materials.

WHAT CAUSES MY WATER TO LOOK CLOUDY OR MILKY?
Cloudy or milky water is usually due to air bubbles in the water. Distribution pipes carry water under pressure, meaning air is dissolved in the water. These bubbles initially make a glass of water appear cloudy, but will slowly rise and disappear.

WHAT CAUSES MY DRINKING WATER TO TASTE OR SMELL FUNNY?
Taste comes from the dissolved minerals in the water. Following are the two most common reasons for poor tasting or smelling water.
1. Chlorine odor is usually a result of the chlorine used to disinfect the water supply. If the smell is particularly bothersome, let the water stand in an open container, the chlorine will dissipate. The container can then be covered for later use.
2. A rotten-egg odor in groundwater is caused by a non-toxic (in small amounts) amount of hydrogen sulfide dissolved in the water and usually comes from the hot water faucet. A remedy can be to slightly turn up the temperature in your hot water heater. In addition, if you let the water flush for a few seconds, the smell will disappear.

IS CHLORINE ADDED TO OUR WATER SYSTEM?
Chlorine is added to the water pumped from the wells to provide a high degree of disinfection over a long period of time. Our system is protected against microbiological contamination and the water you drink contains a small amount of chlorine to maintain a disinfectant capability.

IS FLUORIDE ADDED TO OUR DRINKING WATER?
No, fluoride is not added to our water supply. However, fluoride does occur naturally in well water.

MY WATER FAUCET DRIPS. DOES IT REALLY MATTER IF I DON'T FIX IT?
Yes, it does. Drips waste a precious resource - water, and it costs you money. As an example, if you have a faucet that drips 60 times a minute, this adds up to over 3 gallons each day, or 1,225 gallons each year.

SHOULD I PUT A BRICK IN MY TOILET TANK TO SAVE WATER?
Toilet flushing uses a lot of water, actually, 40% of a household's total water usage. Putting something in the toilet that takes up space, like a water filled jug, is a good idea. But, putting a brick in the tank is not a good idea, because bricks tend to crumble and might damage your toilet.

HOW DO I KNOW IF MY TOILET HAS A SILENT LEAK?
Place a dye tablet or a couple of drops of food coloring in the back tank and don't flush the toilet for 15-30 minutes. If color appears in the toilet bowl, you have a leak.

IS BEST ROAD MUTUAL WATER COMPANY PART OF SUNNYSLOPE COUNTY WATER DISTRICT OR THE SAN BENITO COUNTY WATER DISTRICT?
The answer to this question is a little complicated...Best Road Mutual Water Company consists of Membership within Heatherwood, Foxhill Estates and Fischer Subdivision. None of the Membership within the Heatherwood Estates is within the Sunnyslope County Water District or the San Benito County Water District. However, the individual Membership within the Foxhill Estates and Fischer Subdivision may or may not be in (Federal) Zone 6 which entitles them to use San Felipe (Blue Valve) water. San Felipe water is a water source for Sunnyslope County Water District and is supplied by San Benito County Water District. To determine if you are in zone 6 you can examine your property tax bill. If you have a line item tax for San Felipe Water then you are in Zone 6.

But the crux of this answer is No. Best Road Mutual Water is a mutual water company created by its Membership to provide local service in accordance with the California State Water Code. The Best Road Mutual Water Company is responsible directly to the customers of its membership. Its Board Members collaborates and communicate with Sunnyslope County Water District and the San Benito County Water Districit is not part of or under the jurisdiction of those water agencies.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COST OF REPAIRING LEAKS?
The customer is responsible for any leaks on the customer's side of the meter. Best Road Mutual Water Company is responsible for leaks on the street side of the meter.

Please report all water leaks on the street side of the meter to Daugherty Pump and/or a Board Member immediately

Several questions and parts of questions and answers were reprinted from "Plain Talk About Drinking Water," by the American Water Works Association.

For additional information, visit http://www.awwa.org .