A water official Monday warned Hollister council members that a new state regulation regarding an element called hexavalent chromium could require costly upgrades.
Harry Blohm, project manager for the Hollister Urban Area Water Project, updated Hollister council members about the state’s newly created drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium, or chromium-6. The new standard is at 10 micrograms per liter as a maximum contaminant level.
Blohm said the city would have to take action because Hollister’s wells ranged from 14 to nearly 20 milligrams per liter.
The new state regulations went into effect for local communities July 1. The Association of California Water Agencies called it the first drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium.
Currently, the EPA warns of excess chromium’s potential to cause allergic dermatitis, but there is a review under way examining a possible carcinogenic link, according to the EPA.
To decrease the city’s chromium level, Blohm suggested Hollister may have to consider buying an ion exchange system, reexamine wells and try to pinpoint contaminated aquifers, or drill new wells. Officials expect to evaluate all those options as they update the related master plan and move forward, he said in asking for the formation of a hexavalent chromium commission.
“We’re hopeful we can find an alternative solution that doesn’t involve wellhead treatment,” he said.
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