Tustin Water Quality Report

WHERE DOES WESTMINSTER CITY WATER COME FROM?

Tustin Water Services utilizes groundwater and imported water to supply domestic water to more than 14,100 service connections through approximately 172 miles of water mains.

The groundwater is pumped from the City’s 14 groundwater wells. Imported water from the Colorado River is provided by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Little to no water is provided by way of the State Water Project. Tustin Water Services customers receive a blend of surface and groundwater from these sources.

In 2013 Tustin Water Services supplied over 3.98 billion gallons of water to its customers. The City has multiple storage reservoirs located throughout the service area that allows for the storage of water during low demand periods for use during peak demand periods by Tustin Water Services customers.

ARE THERE CONTAMINANTS IN WESTMINSTER CITY WATER?

The sources of drinking water (both tap water and bottled water) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs and wells. As water travels over the
the surface of the land or through the layers of the ground it dissolves naturally-occurring minerals and, in some cases, radioactive material, and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animal and human activity.

Contaminants that may be present in source water include:

Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban stormwater runoff, and residential uses.

Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife.

Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production or mining activities.

Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can be naturally occurring or result from urban storm runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining and farming.

Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also come from gasoline stations, urban stormwater runoff, agricultural application, and septic systems

SHOULD I DRINK AND BATHE WITH WESTMINSTER CITY WATER STRAIGHT FROM MY FAUCET?

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. Immuno-compromised people, such as those with cancer who are undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have had organ transplants, people with HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorders, some elderly persons and infants can be particularly at risk from infections. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers.

The USEPA and the federal Centers for Disease Control guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium and other microbial contaminants are available from USEPA’s Safe Drinking Water.

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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF TUSTIN

Columbus Tustin, a Northern California carriage maker, and his partner Nelson Stafford purchased 1,300 acres of what had been the Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana for the price of one dollar and fifty cents per acre. Mr. Tustin attempted to create Tustin City, but sales of homesites were slow, and in the early 1870s he ended up giving free lots to anyone who would build a home.

In 1877, Tustin lost out to Santa Ana as the Southern terminus of the Southern Pacific Railroad, and Columbus Tustin died in 1883, a bitterly disappointed man. Nonetheless, with the abundance of water, the community named after him gradually became established as an agricultural center.

In the 1950s, Tustin’s growth began in earnest. Freeways, quality schools, and post-war industries attracted thousands of people. The orchards were developed by builders and by 1970 the population had jumped to 32,000.

Growth was a painful process as houses replaced orange groves. Old-timers and newcomers alike had to adapt to each other, cope with new problems and situations, and expand facilities to handle increased patronage. And so tract after tract replaced grove after grove.

With all the development, the next step was annexation to the City. Annexation became the major issue during the period from 1955 to 1965. One of the early annexations to the city was the Tustin Union High School campus. Although the school was built in 1921, it remained outside the city limits until annexation in 1957.

During the 1950s the City increased 220% in size with annexations. The big leap came in the 1960s when the population increased a whopping 1,012%, going from 2,006 to 22,313 population and the land area increased from 434.23 acres to 2,21477, or a 410% increase. Several large annexations greatly increased the city’s area between 1971 and 1981.

The Marine Corps Air Station was annexed to Tustin, adding 2,076 acres to the city. A few years later a total of 2,257 acres that had been in the Irvine Ranch agricultural preserve were annexed and have been developed as Tustin Ranch.