Since the Beverly Hills Treatment Plant has been offline for operational improvements, your water supply continues to be provided by Metropolitan Water District (Metropolitan). Metropolitan imports water supplies from two main sources: (1) the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers through the State Water Project and (2) the Colorado River via the Colorado River Aqueduct.

Yes, Beverly Hills tap water is safe to drink. Beverly Hills tap water is tested daily and consistently exceeds Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards. The Beverly Hills Water Department reports water quality performance to the state and federal government each year. To view the latest Water Quality Report, click here.

Water that meets federal and state standards is safe to drink. Not only does California have some of the strictest water quality standards in the nation, the criteria established for both federal and state standards are based on cutting–edge scientific work that also utilize health related data to protect public health. These standards are developed by several governmental agencies, which have experienced public health medical doctors, toxicologists, epidemiologists, exposure scientists, environmental scientists, mathematical scientists, computer scientists, and biostatisticians to name just a few.

Delivering safe, high-quality water to our residents is our top priority. The City of Beverly Hills, in conjunction with the Metropolitan Water District, ensures the reliability and safety of our drinking water through innovative water treatment processes, investments in our infrastructure and resource management. We employ highly trained and skilled staff and take extensive measures to constantly monitor and test our water throughout our service area to protect public safety. We also use only State certified laboratories to test for emerging contaminants.

Bottled water is not necessarily any safer to drink than your tap water. In fact, much of bottled water comes from municipal water systems. Bottled water is considered a packaged product that is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Even though the bottle water industries have to adhere to quality standards, the FDA’s water quality testing requirements are far less stringent than the standards we meet. Monitoring is also less frequent than your tap water and the FDA does not require water-bottling companies to share their test results to consumers like the results we provide to our customers. Also, keep in mind bottled water creates a tremendous amount of plastic, which leaves a big environmental footprint. Then there is the consideration of cost. The price you pay for a gallon of water at your tap is considerably less than the price of a gallon of bottled water.

Plastic water bottles never break down or biodegrade, meaning they pollute our environment for thousands of years. Additionally, the cost of manufacturing, transporting, stocking, and disposing of large amounts of plastic water bottles has a huge environmental impact, compared to tap which is the more sustainable water choice.

The novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, does not present a threat to the safety of Beverly Hills’ treated water supplies. First of all, COVID-19 is transmitted person-to-person, not through water, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Secondly, Metropolitan’s advanced, multi-step treatment process includes filtration and disinfection using ozone and chlorine. This process removes and kills viruses, including coronaviruses, as well as bacteria and other pathogens.

The City of Beverly Hills quickly took steps to protect the health of our employees, minimize potential exposure and avoid widespread impacts to our workforce, using tools such as teleworking, micro-teams and holding some critical staff in reserve. Through our pandemic action and business continuity plans, the City of Beverly Hills is prepared to ensure water safety and reliability as COVID-19 conditions evolve.

EPA: https://www.epa.gov/coronavirus/coronavirus-and-drinking-water-and-wastewater

CDC: www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/water.html