Sarah Banholzer

Current State of Pleasanton’s Water Quality

The state of Pleasanton’s water quality, and specifically Amador’s water, has been in
question ever Pleasanton Unified School District conducted a state-mandated, district-wide test
for lead in the fall of 2018.
In this test, it was determined that almost all the tested Amador water fountains and sinks
contained lead, but even more alarming was that four of the Amador faucets were significantly
over what has been determined as a “safe” level.
​These hazardous lead levels began the water fiasco that spurred parents and students alike
to worry about the safety of the drinking water on campus.
“Lead is a neurotoxin, so that is going to affect brain chemistry. It’s long-term and worse than
long-term, it can actually be passed on from mother to offspring. So if the woman has high
levels of lead in her body, she can actually pass it on to her babies,” said ​Amador AP
Environmental Studies teacher, Robyn Fewster​.
Lead enters our drinking water through the lead plumbing fixtures in houses or schools. So
the elevated lead levels in the fountains at Amador were most likely due to outdated lead
plumbing fixtures.
All the fixtures in the “hazardous” lead range were blocked off and have since been either
shut off or removed completely.
The newest hazardous material that is being found in water not only at Amador but in
Pleasanton as a whole are PFAS. PFAS are a group of chemicals used to make heat, water,
and oil resistant coating in clothing, furniture, adhesives, food packaging, and other products.
These PFAS have become an environmental concern because they do not break down, but
instead can move through soils and contaminate sources of drinking water. PFAS are known to
cause reproductive, liver, kidney, and immunological damages as well as tumors and cancer.
Pleasanton currently has higher levels of PFAS than surrounding areas. However, the city’s
current solution is to blend the water contaminated by PFAS with uncontaminated water in order
to reduce the total concentration of PFAS to below 70 parts per trillion, which is the current
maximum level to be considered “safe” drinking water.
It seems that the source of PFAS in Pleasanton’s water is still unknown.
“If anyone knows why we [Pleasanton] have more PFAS in our water than surrounding areas,
they aren’t making it public. Both the City of Pleasanton and the Zone 7 Water agency have said
they are cooperating with state officials who are investigating the source, but to date, the source
has not been identified,” said ​Co-Adviser of the Local Leaders of the 21st Century Club, Jill
Buck​.
On the most basic level, students and citizens of Pleasanton, worried about the dangers of
ingesting the hazardous materials in our drinking water, may choose to use standardized carbon
water filters and change the filters regularly to keep them up to date.
“Even in Flint, Michigan [which had one of the largest water crises in 2014], if each home
could have had a 25 or 30 dollar carbon filter installed in their water faucet, that would have
made a huge difference. But that is a big expense for a city that size,” said ​Fewster​.
 Citizens wanting to speak out publicly for change in Pleasanton’s drinking water may choose
to attend a City Council or Zone 7 meeting and speak during the “Public Comment” period of the
meeting, write their concerns to City Council and Zone 7 board members, or write to the editors
of local newspapers.
“Citizens need to show up to City Council meetings and Zone 7 water agency meetings and
ask for it. Both of those entities respond to citizen input, but so far the public has not shown up
to voice their concerns about PFAS. The City and Zone 7 are working on solutions, but they
would have a greater sense of urgency if citizens demonstrated they have a sense of urgency
about the issue. At a minimum, people should be emailing the elected officials on both boards,”
said ​Buck​.
The state of Pleasanton’s water is becoming a danger to its citizens. With the support of
residents, the city may soon begin to take further action to eliminate hazardous materials from
our drinking water.