TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Talyn Mirzakhanian, City Manager
FROM:
Ted Semaan, Interim Public Works Director
Jeff Page, Utilities Manager
Sandy Nimat, Water Compliance Supervisor
SUBJECT:Title
Conduct the 2025 Public Health Goals Public Hearing (PHGs) and Receive a Presentation Identifying the Levels of Public Health Goals of Manhattan Beach Drinking Water in Comparison to the PHGs set by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) (No Budget Impact) (Interim Public Works Director Semaan).
(Estimated Time: 10 Mins. )
A) CONDUCT PUBLIC HEARING
B) RECEIVE AND FILE REPORT
Body
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RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council conduct a public hearing and receive and file the Triennial Water System Report on Public Health Goals.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no immediate fiscal implications at this time.
BACKGROUND:
Section 116470(b) of the California Health and Safety Code requires public water systems serving more than 10,000 service connections to prepare a written report every three years comparing detected drinking water constituents with their corresponding Public Health Goals (PHGs) or Maximum Contaminant Level Goals (MCLGs). There are approximately 16,500 connections in Manhattan Beach. The regulation also requires the City to hold a public hearing to accept and respond to community comments on the report.
PHGs are developed by the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) and are based solely on health risk considerations. When a PHG has not been adopted for a constituent, the City shall instead use the federal MCLG established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Only those constituents with enforceable drinking water standards, known as Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs), and either a PHG or an MCLG are required to be addressed in this report.
The 2025 PHG Report evaluates water quality data collected in the City of Manhattan Beach’s water system for calendar years 2022, 2023, and 2024. The report provides information on any contaminants detected above their respective PHGs or MCLGs, the potential health risks associated with those constituents, available treatment technologies, and estimated costs to further reduce levels to the PHG or MCLG, even when such goals may be set at levels approaching zero.
PHGs and MCLGs are not regulatory standards and are not enforceable. Instead, they serve as health-based goals identifying extremely small risks. As indicated in the City’s Annual Water Quality Reports, the City’s drinking water has consistently met all primary State and federal drinking water health standards for the past three years.
DISCUSSION:
The results summarized in this report demonstrate that the City of Manhattan Beach’s drinking water continues to meet all health-based standards established by the State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water (DDW), and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).
For the 2025 Public Health Goal (PHG) Report, water quality data collected for calendar years 2022, 2023, and 2024 was reviewed. Sampling was performed by certified operators, and all analyses were conducted by a laboratory accredited through both the State Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ELAP) and the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (NELAP), as required for drinking water testing.
During this monitoring period, certain constituents were detected in the City’s water system at concentrations above their respective PHGs or MCLGs. These findings are summarized below.
Arsenic
The drinking water Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for arsenic is 10 µg/L. The Public Health Goal (PHG) is 0.004 µg/L, and the State Detection Limit for Reporting (DLR) is 2 µg/L. The numerical health risk at the MCL is 1x10⁻⁴, or one cancer case per 10,000 people. The numerical health risk at the PHG is 1x10⁻⁶, or one cancer case per 1,000,000 people. The Best Available Technologies (BATs) for arsenic removal include reverse osmosis (RO), activated alumina, and ion exchange.
Manhattan Beach results between 2022 and 2024 were non-detect (ND). Metropolitan Water District (MWD) reported detections ranging up to 2.4 µg/L in 2022, below the MCL but above the PHG.
Bromate
The MCL for bromate is 10 µg/L. The PHG is 0.1 µg/L, and the State DLR is 1 µg/L. OEHHA established the PHG for bromate based on carcinogenicity. The numerical health risk at the MCL is 1x10⁻⁴, while the risk at the PHG is 1x10⁻⁶. Bromate is a disinfection byproduct, and the BAT is control of the ozone treatment process to limit formation.
Manhattan Beach did not detect bromate in 2022-2024. MWD reported detections up to 15 µg/L, above the PHG but not exceeding the MCL.
Gross Alpha
The MCL for gross alpha particle activity is 15 pCi/L. The Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG) is 0 pCi/L, and the State DLR is 3 pCi/L. Gross alpha represents a group of radionuclides and is considered carcinogenic. The numerical health risk at the MCL is 1x10⁻⁴, while the risk at the MCLG is 0. BATs for removal include reverse osmosis (RO) and ion exchange (IX).
Manhattan Beach reported non-detect results between 2022 and 2024. MWD reported detections up to 5 pCi/L in 2023, which exceeded the MCLG but remained below the MCL.
Gross Beta
The MCL for gross beta particle activity is 50 pCi/L. The MCLG is 0 pCi/L, and the State DLR is 4 pCi/L. Gross beta also represents a class of radionuclides considered carcinogenic. The numerical health risk at the MCL is 2x10⁻³ (two cancer cases per 1,000 population). The numerical health risk at the MCLG is 0. The BATs include reverse osmosis (RO) and ion exchange (IX).
Manhattan Beach results were not significant between 2022 and 2024. MWD reported detections up to 9.0 pCi/L, which exceeded the MCLG but remained below the MCL.
Lead
There is no Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for lead; instead, compliance is based on an Action Level (AL) of 15 µg/L under the Lead and Copper Rule. The Public Health Goal (PHG) is 0.2 µg/L, and the State Detection Limit for Purposes of Reporting (DLR) is 5 µg/L. Lead is a potent neurotoxin, especially harmful to children, with a numerical health risk of 1x10⁻⁴ at the AL and 1x10⁻⁶ at the PHG. Best Available Technologies (BATs) for reducing lead include corrosion control treatment and source water replacement.
In 2022, Manhattan Beach reported a highest average of 4.4 µg/L, with some individual tap samples reaching as high as 50 µg/L. While these results exceed the PHG and show isolated exceedances of the AL in single samples, the system remained in compliance because the 90th percentile value of the collective samples was below 15 µg/L. Metropolitan Water District (MWD) reported non-detect levels in 2024.
Uranium
The MCL for uranium is 20 pCi/L. The PHG is 0.43 pCi/L, and the State DLR is 1 pCi/L. OEHHA developed the PHG for uranium based on carcinogenicity and kidney toxicity. The numerical health risk at the MCL is 5x10⁻⁵ (five cancer cases per 100,000 population). The risk at the PHG is 1x10⁻⁶ (one cancer case per 1,000,000 population). BATs for uranium removal include reverse osmosis (RO), ion exchange (IX), lime softening, and coagulation/filtration.
Manhattan Beach reported non-detect results in 2024. MWD reported uranium at 1 pCi/L in 2023, which exceeded the PHG but remained below the MCL.
CONCLUSION:
As described above, the City of Manhattan Beach’s drinking water has consistently met all State of California, DDW, and USEPA standards established to protect public health over the past three years.
Further reductions in the trace levels of constituents identified in this report would require advanced and costly treatment processes, many of which offer uncertain or unmeasurable public health benefits at such low concentrations. For this reason, staff recommends that the City Council hold the required public hearing, receive and file this report, and take no additional action at this time.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
A public hearing courtesy notification was published in The Beach Reporter on October 30, 2025 inviting public oral and written comments on this item.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is necessary.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Manhattan Beach PHG Report 2025
2. PowerPoint Presentation - PHGs