Item 256/2025
Final
City of Garden Grove
INTER-DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM
To:
Lisa L. Kim From: William E. Murray
Dept:
City Manager Dept: Public Works
Date: 8/12/2025
Subject: Approval of the 2025 Water Public Health Goals Report. (Action Item)
OBJECTIVE
For the City Council to conduct a public hearing to receive comments and approve the City’s 2025 Drinking Water Public Health Goals Report.
BACKGROUND
In 1974, Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act (Act) to ensure that municipalities provide safe, clean drinking water. The Act sets the mandatory and enforceable levels of constituents in water known as Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs). The range and value of these constituents must be reported to water customers annually in the Water Quality Report. This report is available on the City’s website, as required by the State Water Resources Control Board.
Additionally, California’s Health and Safety Code Section 116470(b) requires a separate Public Health Goal Report - detailing contaminants that exceed the Public Health Goal levels (PHGs) set by the state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA). If there are no exceedances of the PHGs, no report is required. Also, any PHG Report is not required to be sent to residents, however, it must be made available upon request.
DISCUSSION
The City’s water supply continues to be in full compliance with all enforceable standards required by s tate and federal regulatory agencies. PHGs established by the OEHHA and Maximum Contaminant Level Goals (MCLGs) established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency are based solely on public health risk considerations being set at levels where the health risks are very low, or zero. The determinations of health risk at these low levels are frequently theoretical. The purpose of the Public Health Goal Report is to provide information on levels of contaminants even below the enforceable mandato ry MCLs. PHGs and MCLGs are not enforceable.
Item 256/2025
Additionally, agencies that operate water systems are required to report any exceeded PHGs or MCLGs to their governing bodies and to hold a public hearing to accept and respond to public comment related to any exceedances. The Public Health Goal Report is only required if a PHG was exceeded on a three (3) year reporting cycle.
For the 2025 Public Health Goal Report, nine (9) contaminants: arsenic, bromate, gross alpha, gross beta, hexavalent chromium, perchlor ate, perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and uranium are required to be reported to governing bodies and consumers because they exceed the PHGs although none of the samples exceeded any enforceable regulatory levels.
The City has constructed treatment facilities for PFOS and PFOA at select well sites after results were near or above the updated State response levels adopted in 2019, and additional treatment systems are being planned to meet the new enforceable Maximum Contam inant Levels (MCLs) that will take effect in 2029.The City continues to routinely monitor the other contaminants identified within the Public Health Goals, which remain well below enforceable standards, to ensure no unexpected increases occur for maintaini ng safe drinking water standards.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There is no financial impact for the City Council to conduct a public hearing to receive comments and approve the City’s 2025 Drinking Water Public Health Goals Report. The City meets or exceeds all enforceable standards required by state and federal regulatory agencies.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council:
Conduct a Public Hearing to receive comments for the 2025 Public Health Goals Report; and
Approve the 2025 Public Health Goals Report as submitted.
By: Cody Nicolae, Water Quality Supervisor
ATTACHMENT(S)
1. Public Health Goal Report 2025
2. Water Quality Report 2025