Water in Brentwood declared non-toxic
Anyone looking for a sequel to the Oscar-nominated film ‘Erin Brockovich’ needed only to tune into the Feb. 28 meeting of the Brentwood City Council to watch the city’s presentation on chromium-6, a water contaminant that has been linked to cancer. The presentation, which said the city’s water meets state safety standards, was given by Miki Tsubota, the director of Public Works, for the city at the request of council members after citizens expressed their concern late last year. For scale, Tsubota said, one part per billion is the equivalent of a single drop in an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The state is preparing to establish a maximum contaminant level of 10 parts per billion, which means Brentwood’s drinking water would more than meet state-level safety standards, according to Tsubota. The current state standard is 50 parts per billion.