Residents press county on testing and disposal of filtrate from point-of-use water systems

At the Sept. 1 meeting, public commenter Mike Weaver of Protect the Process urged the Board of Supervisors to strengthen oversight of point-of-use/point-of-entry (POU/POE) drinking-water systems, citing concerns about nitrate, arsenic, fluoride and hexavalent chromium in filtrate and asking who pays for testing and where residual toxic waste is disposed.

"How do we measure these? Who pays, where does the arsenic sludge contamination go?" Weaver asked in public comment. Environmental Health Bureau staff responded that filtrate generated by POU/POE systems can be treated as household hazardous waste under existing regulations and that the county’s bureau provides technical oversight of small water systems and responds to renter-related complaints.

Board discussion acknowledged the legitimate safety and equity concerns raised by the commenter and thanked staff for adding tenant-notification language to the ordinance packet. Supervisors asked staff to clarify policies governing disposal and-proof of responsible handling and to return with any additional language needed to ensure renters are informed when POU/POE systems are in use.

No new ordinance was adopted today; staff said existing household hazardous waste pathways apply and that the board’s prior revisions (including tenant notification) would be implemented.