D.C. Officials Say Tap Water Is Safe

D.C. water officials tried yesterday to assuage public fears that a spike this spring in toxic chlorine pollutants in the city's tap water posed a health risk to the 1.1 million people who rely on it for drinking water.

At a news conference, leaders of the Washington Aqueduct and the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority said high levels of chlorine toxins found in May in District water tests conducted by an environmental group were probably temporary. They predicted that average water quality measured over the full year would meet federal safety standards.

The toxins are linked in some health studies to cancers, reproductive problems and developmental delays in children. Some studies also suggest that the healthy growth of fetuses can be impaired when pregnant women are exposed to high doses of the toxins in the second and third trimesters.

Officials at the aqueduct, which treats the water, and WASA, which distributes the water to customers, said they are studying ways to improve the treatment process to reduce the toxins. They said that they could do better at informing the public about water quality issues and that they want to be as "transparent" as possible about the presence of chlorine compounds.

"Absolutely, the water that comes to the tap is safe to drink," said Thomas P. Jacobus, general manager of the aqueduct, which provides water to the District, Arlington and Falls Church. "But we don't want to look like we're hiding anything. Perhaps sometimes we don't do the best job we could of communicating."
more from the Washington Post