For Utilities Commission Meeting July 15, 2025
TO: Honorable Chairperson and Commission
APPROVAL: John Rossi, Interim Utilities Director
AUTHOR: Toyasha Sebbag, Assistant to the City Manager
Title
Request Utilities Commission recommend that the City Council/Rialto Utility Authority Board to: (1) Conduct a Public Hearing to Solicit Public Comments from Interested Citizens regarding the Report on Water Quality Relative to 2025 Public Health Goals for 2022, 2023, 2024; (2) Approve the Report on Water Quality Relative to 2025 Public Health Goals for 2022, 2023, 2024; and (3) Receive and File the 2024 Consumer Confidence Report.
POWERPOINT
(ACTION)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Utilities Commission recommend that the City Council/Rialto Utility Authority Board:
1) Conduct a Public Hearing to Solicit Public Comments from Interested Citizens regarding the Report on Water Quality Relative to 2025 Public Health Goals for 2022, 2023, 2024;
2) Approve the Report on Water Quality Relative to 2025 Public Health Goals for 2022, 2023, 2024; and
3) Receive and File the 2024 Consumer Confidence Report.
BACKGROUND
The City of Rialto/Rialto Utility Authority (RUA) is required to provide the public with two distinct types of water quality reports, each serving a different purpose: the Public Health Goals Report and the Consumer Confidence Report.
Public Health Goals Report (PHGs): The California Health and Safety Code § 116470(b) requires public water systems serving more than 10,000 service connections to prepare a PHG Report every three years. This report must identify any detected constituents in the drinking water supply that exceed non-enforceable PHG’s established by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) and explain the associated health risks, estimated costs of treatment, and whether any actions have been taken to reduce the constituent levels.
PHGs are not regulatory standards. The PHG Report must be made available to the public and presented at a formally noticed public hearing to allow for community input.
On June 10, 2025, the City Council/Rialto Utility Authority (RUA) Board set the Public Hearing for July 22, 2025.
Consumer Confidence Report (CCR): The CCR is an annual report required under federal and state regulations. It is designed to inform residents/customers about the quality of their drinking water, including compliance with enforceable drinking water standards. The CCR for calendar year 2024 confirms that the RUA’s water meets or exceeds all applicable state and federal standards. This report is publicly available online and in hard copy at City Hall, the City Clerk’s Office, and the Rialto Water Services Customer Service office.
Together, these reports provide transparency regarding water quality, with the PHG Report addressing theoretical health risk benchmarks and the CCR documenting regulatory compliance.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION
PHG Report: The RUA’s 2025 PHG Report evaluates whether any constituents in the water supply exceeded the non-enforceable PHGs established by OEHHA. Of the 125 constituents tested from 2022 to 2024, three were detected above the PHG levels: arsenic, hexavalent chromium, and 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD).
It is important to note that while these constituents exceed PHGs, all are well below the enforceable state and federal Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs). MCLs are the legally required standards for safe drinking water. The presence of a constituent above its PHG does not mean the water is unsafe; rather, PHGs represent ideal targets based on lifetime exposure risk using conservative health risk models.
PHG Report Findings:
• Arsenic was detected in one groundwater well at levels between 5.1 and 9.7 parts per billion (ppb), below the MCL of 10 ppb.
• Hexavalent Chromium (Cr VI), found in all water sources, ranged from 0.16 to 2.8 ppb, well under the 10 ppb MCL.
• TCDD, a trace environmental byproduct, was detected at levels between 1.17 and 4.92 picograms per liter (pg/L), far below the MCL of 30 picograms per liter.
To help put the PHG Report measurements into perspective: one ppb is like a single drop of water in a 10,000-gallon swimming pool. For pg/L, which is an even smaller measure, imagine dropping a grain of sand into an Olympic sized swimming pool and then dividing that grain into a trillion pieces. One of those trillion pieces in a liter of water represents 1 pg/L. These comparisons illustrate how small the detected levels are.
These findings do not indicate a violation or public health threat. Rather, they reflect OEHHA’s conservative health-based targets, which are often set near zero and do not account for feasibility, detectability, or treatment costs.
While advanced treatment technologies such as reverse osmosis could further reduce these constituents, the cost is estimated to exceed $35 million and may not result in measurable public health benefits at the current low concentrations.
The RUA’s drinking water remains in full compliance with all state and federal health standards, and no additional treatment is proposed at this time.
The 2025 PHG Report is included as Attachment 2.
Consumer Confidence Report (CCR): All of the water quality data collected by the RUA’s water system for calendar year 2024 is summarized in the 2024 Consumer Confidence Report (CCR), included as Attachment 3. The CCR confirms that Rialto’s drinking water met or exceeded all state and federal drinking water standards throughout the year.
The CCR is published annually to keep the public informed about the safety and quality of their tap water. It includes important details such as:
• Where the RUA’s drinking water comes from, including local groundwater sources and imported surface water.
• General information about potential contaminants that could affect source water, such as microbial organisms, pesticides, and industrial chemicals.
• Clarifying information for any contaminants detected, even when well below regulatory limits, and whether any were found in violation of health standards (none were found in 2024).
• Special health information for vulnerable populations, including infants, pregnant women, and immunocompromised individuals.
The CCR also outlines ongoing water quality monitoring practices, system upgrades, and community outreach efforts that contribute to the RUA’s commitment of delivering high-quality safe water.
The 2024 CCR demonstrates that the RUA is in full compliance with all applicable drinking water regulations. The water is safe to drink, and that the RUA continues to uphold transparency and accountability in its water quality reporting.
On May 29, 2025, the Water Subcommittee provided feedback that the item be placed on the Utilities Commission agenda for consideration to move the item forward to the City Council to conduct a Public Hearing to solicit public comments from interested citizens.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Pursuant to Section 15378(a), a “Project” means the whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. According to Section 15378(b), a Project does not include: (5) Organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.
GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY
This action is consistent with the City of Rialto's General Plan Guiding Principle 3, “Rialto’s Economic Environment is Healthy and Diverse.” Our City government will lead by example, and will operate in an open, transparent, and responsive manner that meets the needs of the citizens and is a good place to do business.
Approval of this action also complies with the City of Rialto General Plan Goals and Policies:
Goal 3-8: Promote affordable and quality water service capable of adequately meeting normal and emergency water demands to all areas in Rialto.
Policy 3-8.4: Advocate regular evaluation of the entire water supply and distribution system to ensure its continued adequacy, reliability, and safety.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney's Office has reviewed the staff report.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Operating Budget Impact
The financial impact associated with the CCR is minimal, as the primary method of distribution is the Rialto Water Services website, and advertisement of its availability is done through the monthly water bill.
Capital Improvement Budget Impact
There is no impact to the Capital Improvement Budget.
Licensing:
This action does not require a business license.
ATTACHMENT(S)
1. PRESENTATION 2025 Public Health Goals Report and 2024 Consumer Confidence Report
2. 2025 Public Health Goals Report
3. Consumer Confidence Report