Water is our most precious resource, yet it’s seldom thought of with the expected necessity. With how abundant and accessible water has become from generation to generation, it’s easy to take it for granted. Yet living with limited access to fresh water is still a daily reality for people around the world.
Is Pasadena water safe to drink? While many in the Pasadena area may feel assured that unlimited clean water will always run from the taps, the reality of water security is a complex issue. In order to ensure the faucets keep flowing, the city of Pasadena has mandated a set of guidelines governing water use. The Pasadena water restrictions affect every residential spout in the city as the Department of Water and Power scrambles to keep up with demand.
Read on to learn about the specific regulations regarding public use of water, and how you might get more than you bargained for from the city’s unfiltered supply.
Los Angeles, and southern California in general, is synonymous with sunny days and cloudless skies. The less acknowledged flipside of southern California’s climate, however, is its bone-dry precipitation levels and propensity for drought. Pasadena exemplifies this lack of rainfall, most glaringly during the summer. The driest month of the year is August, which experiences 0.2 days of rain on average.
That’s less than five hours total—in a month.
Needless to say, natural reservoirs are not replenished in sufficient supply to meet the city’s demands. The Raymond Basin is the main local source of the city’s water supply, and it’s fed by rainfall in the San Gabriel valley. With little precipitation in the surrounding mountains, the Raymond Basin fails to meet even half of Pasadena’s demand, requiring the city to import water from other municipalities.
Infrequent precipitation and an unreliable supply of local water mean Pasadena is frequently in cycles of drought. The city has come up with a six-level gauge to assess the threat of drought at a given time:
With multiple low-precipitation records set in 2022, over 90% of California has been in the same drought category this year.
The National Integrated Drought Information System, a governmental program that tracks droughts across multiple metrics, also deems Pasadena and the surrounding area to be in a state of severe drought.
With local and national systems painting a dry picture, it’s clear Pasadena is going through a drought-stricken period. Not wanting to push the needles further into extreme dryness, officials decided to limit the public’s use of water.
Water conservation is crucial for Southern Californians of LA county and surrounding regions. In order to combat the ongoing shortage, the city of Pasadena has enacted a set of guidelines dictating who can use water and when. Below is a breakdown of the current rules governing which uses of water are permitted, restricted, and prohibited.
Creating watering restrictions such as implementing a specific watering day or certain irrigation rules can create a significant difference in water waste during droughts. These regulations apply to every residential building in the city, so if you’re living in Pasadena, that probably includes you.1 However, like all good rules, there are always a few exceptions.
The rules regulating water usage in Pasadena (and similarly with West Covina water restrictions) apply almost fully across the board. That said, there are a few instances when one isn’t governed by the current regulations:
Dealing with the water shortage has no end in sight, so it’s helpful to understand your full rights when it comes to usage. Likewise, it’s beneficial to inform yourself about the quality of water flowing from Pasadena’s treatment facilities to your tap.
Despite meeting Federal regulations, Pasadena’s water contains a long list of contaminants that may be prejudicial to your health. In total, the city’s supply contains 36 chemical contaminants, 17 of which are found in highly unhealthy quantities.7
Below is a small collection of some of the compounds floating around in Pasadena’s water. Keep in mind, this list only scratches the surface of what makes it past the city’s filtration system.
Evidently, Pasadena is not only providing its residents water in short supply, but the quality it delivers is also in question. Many of the chemicals you’re drinking may have effects on your health. Even trees can have their growth inhibited by the high levels of toxins sprayed on them while watering.11
But what are Pasadenans to do? Water is the very lifeblood of existence and there’s no way to stop using it. Luckily, there are steps that you can take to ensure the city’s supply is safe for you, your family, and the environment.
Just because Pasadena’s treatment plants are pumping out chemical-laden water doesn’t mean you have to drink it as is. Rayne Water has been serving California’s water conditioning needs for almost a century. When it comes to dealing with contaminants, we are the experts you can trust.
Our water softeners can eliminate excess chlorine-based compounds that make your water smell and taste like a public pool. As a bonus, they can eradicate minerals that build up on surfaces and cause scaling—making cleaning your dishes, your skin, and your shower a breeze.
We also provide some of the most supremely refreshing reverse osmosis Los Angeles has to offer. Our systems can remove the chemical impurities plaguing your water supply. Aside from Pasadena, we can also help improve Burbank water quality.
You, your family, and your property deserve the crispest, cleanest water nature has to offer. Trust Rayne Water to help clean the contaminants from Pasadena’s supply and allow purity to flow from your taps.
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