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Environmental group defends water study results

Page Last Updated: Thursday December 17, 2009 8:37am PST

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Victoria Campbell, News 4

An environmental group that released a controversial study of the nation's drinking water-a study that ranked Reno 96th in water safety-is standing by its figures. The Environmental Working Group says Reno's water shows unacceptable levels of arsenic and tetrachloroethyline.

The study drew an angry response from the Truckee Meadows Water Authority, which says Reno's drinking water exceeds the strictest state and federal standards for drinking water safety.

"It says in two different columns ‘legal limit exceeded-yes'," said Paul Miller, water quality manager for TMWA. "But we have never had a legal limit exceeded, especially for arsenic. We have always posted significantly better than the standards.

"And for tetrachloroethylene, it says there have been violations. And we have never had a violation for that."

But Richard Wiles, senior vice president for policy for EWG, says the group's aims are clear.

"We're trying to move Congress and the EPA to set tougher standards for drinking water across the country so we don't end up with situations where people drink water with 10, 20 or 30 different contaminants in it, and have the authorities say that that's safe," Wiles said.

EWG is not recommending that residents of the Truckee Meadows stop drinking tap water. Instead, they say, they want residents to be better informed about what's in their drinking water. Wiles suggested that people who are concerned buy water filters or bottled water.

And he defended his group's sales of water filters through a charity for a cut of the profits, but said he could understand how some people could consider it a possible conflict of interest.

"It was confusing, and not well [written] on our part," Wiles said. "We are definitely considering a change in how we describe it."

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