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Action News Jax Investigates: Water safety claim

Running water

Action News Jax investigates a claim about water safety in Northeast Florida.

A recent study from the Environmental Working Group says a chemical known to cause cancer, hexavalent chromium, was found in the tap water of 200 million Americans.

Duval County was included in that study. The report is backed by a name made famous by a Hollywood hit: Erin Brockovich.

The claim from the Environmental Working Group is a major one, but we found the headline doesn't tell the whole story.

Action News Jax dug through hundreds of pages of data from the Environmental Protection Agency detailing what it calls unregulated contaminants in drinking water.

We found that while naturally occurring chromium can be found in many local water grids, levels were well below maximum limits set by the federal government.

The EWG uses California environmental standards, which are stricter than the federal government's. JEA's water supply was all below federal limits.

We asked JEA for a comment on-camera. Its spokesperson declined and instead sent us this statement.

"JEA's water is safe. Chromium-6 was tested as required under UCMR3 (Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule) in 2013. Out of 120 samples taken, there were 3 that were above the California public health goal of 0.02 ppb -- one in Lofton Oaks and at both the plant and associated distribution site in the Love Grove part of Jacksonville.

"All results were below 0.1 ppb. There is no indication that there is a systemic problem in the water. JEA's water comes from the Floridan aquifer, which is a pristine source that requires minimal treatment. As the report indicates, there is currently no MCL (Maximum Contaminant Level) for chromium-6. The Lowest Concentration Minimum Reporting Limit (LCMRL) for method 218.7 IC Hex Chromium method, using a simulated drinking water matrix, is reported as 0.019 μg/L, which is right at California's goal.

"Our 2014 triennial samples taken from the entry point of all our water treatment plants did not show any detectable level of total chromium. Samples will be taken again in early 2017.

"JEA issues an annual water quality report and those results were in the 2013 report. This report can be found on JEA.com."

The study allows you to search your ZIP code to see if the chemical was detected in your neighborhood. Click here to search the EWG site.

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