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How to best filter your L.A. tap water based on your ZIP Code

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Monday, July 22, 2024

Nearly a year ago, I scribbled “Replace Brita filter” on my to-do list. But the errand perpetually fell by the wayside. There were so many more pressing tasks to complete. “Oh, it’s fine,” I thought. “How bad can it be?” Let’s just say that a day into reporting this story, I ran out to the market and bought a three-pack.We reach for our water taps more than almost any other object in our homes — to brush our teeth, wash our faces, make coffee or tea in the morning. To cook meals, rinse dishes and wipe countertops. To water the plants, do laundry and fill our pets’ bowls. To shower and shave. And most often for a drink. In L.A., water rules everything around us. Drink up, cool off and dive into our stories about hydrating and recreating in the city. But how much do you really know about what’s in your tap water? And if you filter it, are you using the right technology? Many of us may not be fully aware of where our water even comes from. That’s because the water that flows into our homes in the L.A. area can be surprisingly different, ZIP Code to ZIP Code. The level of arsenic found in Compton’s tap water may differ wildly from that found in Glendale. Malibu’s tap water may have more hexavalent chromium while Pasadena’s doesn’t have any. One tap does not fit all. “Where you are, the location, it really makes a difference in your water quality,” said Tasha Stoiber, a senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit research and advocacy group focusing on environmental health. We went to the source, so to speak — experts in the realms of science, academia and water filtration — to help you navigate the often complicated, ever-fluid world of residential tap water, so that you can make smarter and more informed choices about how to purify your H20. L.A.’s water sources | Federal and state protections | Determining your water quality | How to test | How to filter | The bare minimumL.A.’s water sources Like most major cities, the Greater Los Angeles area is served by a dizzying number of community water systems. In California, there are 2,913 of them to serve about 39.025 million people — and those are just the larger ones that operate year-round, according to the EWG’s Tap Water Database. Each utility company treats the water in its assigned municipality differently before it flows through consumers’ faucets. That’s because each draws from different water sources. One area’s tap may be coming from rivers and lakes (otherwise categorized as “surface water”) while another’s could be pumped from wells from beneath layers of rock and sediment (categorized as “groundwater”). Depending on where the water travels, it may pick up different undesirable contaminants. Surface water, for example, could have runoff that includes nitrate used to fertilize land in agricultural areas. Groundwater could have naturally occurring chemical elements, such as arsenic, that come from bedrock. More often than not, L.A. area tap water comes from a mix of these sources. Our utility companies draw from different aqueducts, those large, often concrete ditches or canals that extend from the source to the water treatment plant. From there it flows through pipes, underground, to your home.In 2023, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power — which serves about 4 million people throughout the city of Los Angeles — sourced its tap water from the Los Angeles Aqueduct, the California Aqueduct and the Colorado River Aqueduct as well as from local groundwater, according to its most recent drinking water quality report.The specific geographic location of a water source also determines what ends up in your tap water. A lake near a highly industrial area risks containing more pollutants than water coming from a lake in the High Sierras.Another reason the water might be different between ZIP Codes: Utility companies have different resources at their disposal.“The size of the drinking water system can be an indicator of the drinking water quality,” Stoiber said. “It’s based on economy of scale. The larger ones have more resources for treatment. Smaller systems can be at a bit more of an economic disadvantage.”Federal and state water protections There are federal regulations that require utility companies to stay below maximum contaminant levels for more than 90 pollutants in drinking water. They’re also required to publish an annual consumer confidence report with information about contaminant levels and water sources. “But many of our drinking water regulations were set in the ’70s and ’80 and are not as protective as they should be,” Stoiber said. “There are contaminants in your drinking water that don’t have regulations around them.” How harmful these contaminants are, and how much you’d have to ingest over time to affect your health, is contested. But in general, however many pollutants you might find in L.A.’s tap water, there are not enough to make you seriously ill in one gulp. Some good news: In April, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized new regulations around a family of about 15,000 chemicals known as PFAS. They’re often referred to as the “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in the environment. California also voted in April to finalize a limit for hexavalent chromium, or “Chrome 6,” which many people know as the carcinogenic chemical that the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. contaminated residents’ groundwater with, from 1952 to 1966, in Hinkley, Calif. — the legal upshot of which was depicted in the film “Erin Brockovich.” But those changes won’t be immediate. “Upgrading water treatment plants is expensive and takes years,” said USC’s Daniel McCurry, who researches water supply and treatment. “Most smaller utilities, especially, just won’t have the money to make the upgrades in the initial time frame.” 2027, McCurry notes, is the deadline for utilities to complete their “initial monitoring” before the new regulations for PFAS go into effect in 2029. (Henry Hargreaves / For The Times) How to determine your water quality So where to start? It’s easier than it might seem. First, search for your consumer confidence report on your utility company’s website. You can then cross-reference that information with EWG’s free Tap Water Database, which allows you to type in your ZIP Code (look for the prompt “Is your water safe?”). It then will populate your water utility company and the number of people it serves. From there, you can click on “View Utility” to produce an easy-to-decipher report listing the source of your water and contaminants detected in it. When I typed my own Silver Lake ZIP Code in for a water quality analysis, the results did not put me at ease. It listed nine contaminants detected in my water, among them bromate and uranium. Some of these were found at levels that far exceeded the standards of the EWG but were still below the legal limit. I called the LADWP to make sense of what I’ve found. “There’s no health concern,” LADWP’s director of water quality, Jonathan Leung, said of my findings, stressing that the contaminants were far below the federally mandated legal limit. “That’s where, collectively, all the toxicologists and water quality specialists and scientists have worked together to set national standards. As a water quality utility, that’s what we set our sights on. The public should take confidence that the legal limits are protective of public health — and we strive to do better than that.” McCurry added that the EWG and EPA have different standards for the amount of contaminants found in water. “When the EPA sets a water contaminant limit, it’s a balance between protecting public health while staying realistic about the treatment technology we have and how much it costs,” McCurry said. “Everyone’s perception or tolerance of risk is different, but for me, personally, I drink water straight from the tap and don’t worry about it. It’s very unlikely you’ll get sick from tap water, assuming the tap water meets federal regulations.” How to test your water at home Whatever your personal tolerance level, you can improve both the quality and taste of your tap water by choosing the right filter, experts say. But, given the array of filtration products and techniques on the market, that’s easier said than done. Choosing from options like “ion-exchange demineralization,” “ultraviolet sterilization” and “chemical feed pumps” can be intimidating.Take a breath. Then step back. Filtering should be a tailored approach, said Brian Campbell, founder of Water Filter Guru, which lab-tests and reports on residential water treatment methods and products. “There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all water treatment solution,” Campbell said.He added that even after reading utility consumer reports and nonprofit chemical analyses, you still may need to know more.“[Those reports] will give you a general sense but not the whole picture, Campbell said. “Because water can be recontaminated after it leaves the treatment plant — like if your home has old plumbing with lead piping. But it’s a start.”You can test your home’s water quality yourself using fairly affordable water test strips, available for about $15 in stores such as Home Depot. These, Campbell said, will “give you an indication of a handful of the most common 12 to 15 contaminants like lead, arsenic, chromium, nitrate possibly.” However it will only give you a range of those aforementioned contaminants, not the exact concentration in your water. If you want specific information about the chemical levels, you can run a more in-depth test. The best way to do that, Campbell said, is through a certified lab, where the cost ranges from roughly $100 to more than $1,000 depending on how comprehensive you want to get. How to choose a filter Once you know what’s in your water, you’ll be able to choose the right filter technology to treat it, Campbell said. Here’s what he suggests using for some of the most common issues.PFAS. This is the family of about 15,000 chemicals used for their water repellent and oil repellent properties, such as in nonstick pans or fast food packaging. “The most studied filtration method for this is activated carbon adsorption,” Campbell said. “It’s the most common technology used in pitcher filtration. Even the most simple water pitcher filters should theoretically reduce PFAS.” Reverse osmosis filtration systems also will address PFAS — it’s one of the most thorough techniques and includes activated carbon as one of its stages. Historically, these pricy systems were installed directly into sink pipes, but countertop versions now are available for renters. Microplastics. “They get into the environment and break down into smaller and smaller pieces — so small you’d need a microscope to see them,” Campbell said. The best technique to address those — because they are suspended particles, floating in the water and not dissolved — is mechanical filtration, he said. The technology removes suspended particles, like pipe rust or sand and grit coming from a hot water heater. Reverse osmosis also would work. Distillation would be effective as well and is, per Campbell, one of the best to get rid of nearly all common contaminants. But, Campbell warned, “It requires a massive amount of energy and time to treat and distill a relatively small volume of water — so not the most practical.” Disinfection byproducts. This is a group of chemicals created when common water disinfectants — typically chlorine — interact with organic matter (such as dirt or rust) that’s already present in the pipes that run from the distribution plant to your home or office, Campbell said. “Activated carbon adsorption is the best way to deal with this. Reverse osmosis will also deal with them because a component of that [technique] is activated carbon.”Pesticides, herbicides and fertilizer. “This is more of an issue in agricultural areas,” Campbell said. Typically, he added, they can be treated using activated carbon and reverse osmosis.Fluoride. Tap water is fluoridated in many areas because of its dental health benefits. But recent research suggests that prenatal exposure to fluoride may be linked to increased risk of neurobehavioral problems in children at age 3. “Reverse osmosis would be the best treatment for this, but there are a few adsorption media that can reduce fluoride, like a filter using bone char carbon (activated carbon that comes from animal bones) or a filter using activated alumina media, another adsorption media,” said Campbell.Heavy metals. Lead is obviously the most infamous heavy metal water contaminant, but consumers also should watch out for arsenic (primarily from groundwater) and chromium 6 (which comes from industrial manufacturing). “Typically, for metals, reverse osmosis is the best option,” said Campbell. “Activated carbon works for chromium 6 but not for arsenic. Distillation, again, gets rid of everything but it’s not practical.”Hard water. Hard water is caused by mineral buildup, which isn’t bad for your health but can create limescale on appliances like your water heater. It also can affect your beauty routine. “Soap doesn’t lather as well with hard water,” said Campbell. “Your hair might feel brittle and it can irritate skin issues like eczema.” He recommends treating the issue at the water point of entry to the home with cation exchange resin, a type of ion exchange. The best way to know if a product is actually capable of doing what it claims to do, Campbell said, is to look up its performance certifications. “You can do that in databases through the Water Quality Assn., the National Sanitation Foundation and the International Assn. of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials.”The bare minimum If nothing else, Stoiber urged consumers to peruse the EWG’s guide to countertop filters — and to purchase one. Though McCurry is content drinking from the tap, he agreed it couldn’t hurt. “If you have reason to believe there are, say, PFAS above the future regulation target, then yeah, get a Brita filter,” he said.Needless to say, that task is no longer on my to-do list.

We spoke to experts in the realms of science, academia and water filtration to help you navigate the often complicated, ever-fluid world of residential tap water, so that you can make smarter and more informed choices about how to purify your drinking water.

Nearly a year ago, I scribbled “Replace Brita filter” on my to-do list. But the errand perpetually fell by the wayside. There were so many more pressing tasks to complete.

“Oh, it’s fine,” I thought. “How bad can it be?”

Let’s just say that a day into reporting this story, I ran out to the market and bought a three-pack.

We reach for our water taps more than almost any other object in our homes — to brush our teeth, wash our faces, make coffee or tea in the morning. To cook meals, rinse dishes and wipe countertops. To water the plants, do laundry and fill our pets’ bowls. To shower and shave. And most often for a drink.

In L.A., water rules everything around us. Drink up, cool off and dive into our stories about hydrating and recreating in the city.

But how much do you really know about what’s in your tap water? And if you filter it, are you using the right technology? Many of us may not be fully aware of where our water even comes from.

That’s because the water that flows into our homes in the L.A. area can be surprisingly different, ZIP Code to ZIP Code. The level of arsenic found in Compton’s tap water may differ wildly from that found in Glendale. Malibu’s tap water may have more hexavalent chromium while Pasadena’s doesn’t have any. One tap does not fit all.

“Where you are, the location, it really makes a difference in your water quality,” said Tasha Stoiber, a senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit research and advocacy group focusing on environmental health.

We went to the source, so to speak — experts in the realms of science, academia and water filtration — to help you navigate the often complicated, ever-fluid world of residential tap water, so that you can make smarter and more informed choices about how to purify your H20.

L.A.’s water sources | Federal and state protections | Determining your water quality | How to test | How to filter | The bare minimum

L.A.’s water sources

Like most major cities, the Greater Los Angeles area is served by a dizzying number of community water systems. In California, there are 2,913 of them to serve about 39.025 million people — and those are just the larger ones that operate year-round, according to the EWG’s Tap Water Database.

Each utility company treats the water in its assigned municipality differently before it flows through consumers’ faucets. That’s because each draws from different water sources. One area’s tap may be coming from rivers and lakes (otherwise categorized as “surface water”) while another’s could be pumped from wells from beneath layers of rock and sediment (categorized as “groundwater”).

Depending on where the water travels, it may pick up different undesirable contaminants. Surface water, for example, could have runoff that includes nitrate used to fertilize land in agricultural areas. Groundwater could have naturally occurring chemical elements, such as arsenic, that come from bedrock.

More often than not, L.A. area tap water comes from a mix of these sources. Our utility companies draw from different aqueducts, those large, often concrete ditches or canals that extend from the source to the water treatment plant. From there it flows through pipes, underground, to your home.

In 2023, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power — which serves about 4 million people throughout the city of Los Angeles — sourced its tap water from the Los Angeles Aqueduct, the California Aqueduct and the Colorado River Aqueduct as well as from local groundwater, according to its most recent drinking water quality report.

The specific geographic location of a water source also determines what ends up in your tap water. A lake near a highly industrial area risks containing more pollutants than water coming from a lake in the High Sierras.

Another reason the water might be different between ZIP Codes: Utility companies have different resources at their disposal.

“The size of the drinking water system can be an indicator of the drinking water quality,” Stoiber said. “It’s based on economy of scale. The larger ones have more resources for treatment. Smaller systems can be at a bit more of an economic disadvantage.”

Federal and state water protections

There are federal regulations that require utility companies to stay below maximum contaminant levels for more than 90 pollutants in drinking water. They’re also required to publish an annual consumer confidence report with information about contaminant levels and water sources.

“But many of our drinking water regulations were set in the ’70s and ’80 and are not as protective as they should be,” Stoiber said. “There are contaminants in your drinking water that don’t have regulations around them.”

How harmful these contaminants are, and how much you’d have to ingest over time to affect your health, is contested. But in general, however many pollutants you might find in L.A.’s tap water, there are not enough to make you seriously ill in one gulp.

Some good news: In April, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized new regulations around a family of about 15,000 chemicals known as PFAS. They’re often referred to as the “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in the environment. California also voted in April to finalize a limit for hexavalent chromium, or “Chrome 6,” which many people know as the carcinogenic chemical that the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. contaminated residents’ groundwater with, from 1952 to 1966, in Hinkley, Calif. — the legal upshot of which was depicted in the film “Erin Brockovich.” But those changes won’t be immediate.

“Upgrading water treatment plants is expensive and takes years,” said USC’s Daniel McCurry, who researches water supply and treatment. “Most smaller utilities, especially, just won’t have the money to make the upgrades in the initial time frame.”

2027, McCurry notes, is the deadline for utilities to complete their “initial monitoring” before the new regulations for PFAS go into effect in 2029.

Photo illustration of a hose faucet on a blue background pouring water on the right, with dirt, grass and rocks on the left.

(Henry Hargreaves / For The Times)

How to determine your water quality

So where to start? It’s easier than it might seem. First, search for your consumer confidence report on your utility company’s website. You can then cross-reference that information with EWG’s free Tap Water Database, which allows you to type in your ZIP Code (look for the prompt “Is your water safe?”). It then will populate your water utility company and the number of people it serves. From there, you can click on “View Utility” to produce an easy-to-decipher report listing the source of your water and contaminants detected in it.

When I typed my own Silver Lake ZIP Code in for a water quality analysis, the results did not put me at ease. It listed nine contaminants detected in my water, among them bromate and uranium. Some of these were found at levels that far exceeded the standards of the EWG but were still below the legal limit.

I called the LADWP to make sense of what I’ve found.

“There’s no health concern,” LADWP’s director of water quality, Jonathan Leung, said of my findings, stressing that the contaminants were far below the federally mandated legal limit. “That’s where, collectively, all the toxicologists and water quality specialists and scientists have worked together to set national standards. As a water quality utility, that’s what we set our sights on. The public should take confidence that the legal limits are protective of public health — and we strive to do better than that.”

McCurry added that the EWG and EPA have different standards for the amount of contaminants found in water.

“When the EPA sets a water contaminant limit, it’s a balance between protecting public health while staying realistic about the treatment technology we have and how much it costs,” McCurry said. “Everyone’s perception or tolerance of risk is different, but for me, personally, I drink water straight from the tap and don’t worry about it. It’s very unlikely you’ll get sick from tap water, assuming the tap water meets federal regulations.”

How to test your water at home

Whatever your personal tolerance level, you can improve both the quality and taste of your tap water by choosing the right filter, experts say.

But, given the array of filtration products and techniques on the market, that’s easier said than done. Choosing from options like “ion-exchange demineralization,” “ultraviolet sterilization” and “chemical feed pumps” can be intimidating.

Take a breath. Then step back. Filtering should be a tailored approach, said Brian Campbell, founder of Water Filter Guru, which lab-tests and reports on residential water treatment methods and products.

“There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all water treatment solution,” Campbell said.

He added that even after reading utility consumer reports and nonprofit chemical analyses, you still may need to know more.

“[Those reports] will give you a general sense but not the whole picture, Campbell said. “Because water can be recontaminated after it leaves the treatment plant — like if your home has old plumbing with lead piping. But it’s a start.”

You can test your home’s water quality yourself using fairly affordable water test strips, available for about $15 in stores such as Home Depot. These, Campbell said, will “give you an indication of a handful of the most common 12 to 15 contaminants like lead, arsenic, chromium, nitrate possibly.” However it will only give you a range of those aforementioned contaminants, not the exact concentration in your water.

If you want specific information about the chemical levels, you can run a more in-depth test. The best way to do that, Campbell said, is through a certified lab, where the cost ranges from roughly $100 to more than $1,000 depending on how comprehensive you want to get.

How to choose a filter

Once you know what’s in your water, you’ll be able to choose the right filter technology to treat it, Campbell said. Here’s what he suggests using for some of the most common issues.

PFAS. This is the family of about 15,000 chemicals used for their water repellent and oil repellent properties, such as in nonstick pans or fast food packaging. “The most studied filtration method for this is activated carbon adsorption,” Campbell said. “It’s the most common technology used in pitcher filtration. Even the most simple water pitcher filters should theoretically reduce PFAS.” Reverse osmosis filtration systems also will address PFAS — it’s one of the most thorough techniques and includes activated carbon as one of its stages. Historically, these pricy systems were installed directly into sink pipes, but countertop versions now are available for renters.

Microplastics. “They get into the environment and break down into smaller and smaller pieces — so small you’d need a microscope to see them,” Campbell said. The best technique to address those — because they are suspended particles, floating in the water and not dissolved — is mechanical filtration, he said. The technology removes suspended particles, like pipe rust or sand and grit coming from a hot water heater. Reverse osmosis also would work. Distillation would be effective as well and is, per Campbell, one of the best to get rid of nearly all common contaminants. But, Campbell warned, “It requires a massive amount of energy and time to treat and distill a relatively small volume of water — so not the most practical.”

Disinfection byproducts. This is a group of chemicals created when common water disinfectants — typically chlorine — interact with organic matter (such as dirt or rust) that’s already present in the pipes that run from the distribution plant to your home or office, Campbell said. “Activated carbon adsorption is the best way to deal with this. Reverse osmosis will also deal with them because a component of that [technique] is activated carbon.”

Pesticides, herbicides and fertilizer. “This is more of an issue in agricultural areas,” Campbell said. Typically, he added, they can be treated using activated carbon and reverse osmosis.

Fluoride. Tap water is fluoridated in many areas because of its dental health benefits. But recent research suggests that prenatal exposure to fluoride may be linked to increased risk of neurobehavioral problems in children at age 3. “Reverse osmosis would be the best treatment for this, but there are a few adsorption media that can reduce fluoride, like a filter using bone char carbon (activated carbon that comes from animal bones) or a filter using activated alumina media, another adsorption media,” said Campbell.

Heavy metals. Lead is obviously the most infamous heavy metal water contaminant, but consumers also should watch out for arsenic (primarily from groundwater) and chromium 6 (which comes from industrial manufacturing). “Typically, for metals, reverse osmosis is the best option,” said Campbell. “Activated carbon works for chromium 6 but not for arsenic. Distillation, again, gets rid of everything but it’s not practical.”

Hard water. Hard water is caused by mineral buildup, which isn’t bad for your health but can create limescale on appliances like your water heater. It also can affect your beauty routine. “Soap doesn’t lather as well with hard water,” said Campbell. “Your hair might feel brittle and it can irritate skin issues like eczema.” He recommends treating the issue at the water point of entry to the home with cation exchange resin, a type of ion exchange.

The best way to know if a product is actually capable of doing what it claims to do, Campbell said, is to look up its performance certifications. “You can do that in databases through the Water Quality Assn., the National Sanitation Foundation and the International Assn. of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials.”

The bare minimum

If nothing else, Stoiber urged consumers to peruse the EWG’s guide to countertop filters — and to purchase one.

Though McCurry is content drinking from the tap, he agreed it couldn’t hurt. “If you have reason to believe there are, say, PFAS above the future regulation target, then yeah, get a Brita filter,” he said.

Needless to say, that task is no longer on my to-do list.

Read the full story here.
Photos courtesy of

Cold-Water Immersion May Offer Health Benefits -- and Also Presents Risks

Claims about the benefits of cold-water immersion date back centuries

Dr. Mark Harper recalls his first cold-water swim in the south of England 20 years ago. It was August, but the initial jolt from the plunge took his breath away. The shock to his system lasted a minute or two until he was “recombobulated and able to think about something other than the cold," Harper says. A surprise sensation soon replaced his discomfort. “I remember getting out of the water the first time and feeling so good," Harper, an anesthesiologist who has since researched the potential risks and rewards of taking a nippy dunk. "I wasn't expecting that.”Claims about the benefits of cold-water immersion date back centuries. Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and the third American president, wrote toward the end of his life about using a cold foot bath daily for 60 years. He also owned a book published in 1706 on the history of cold-water bathing. But Harper, who became a regular cold-water swimmer after his initiation, said there are strong signs that people can derive mental health benefits from the activity. He mentioned a positive effect on depression and general well-being.“For now, we have a very strong base, but not hard evidence, that cold-water immersion is effective for mental health," Harper told The Associated Press. Harper said his own early experiences with cold-water swimming piqued his professional curiosity. As a physician, he wondered if the brief bodily shock had clinical uses for treating depression. He cited the biological phenomenon of hormesis, in which a stressor introduced at a low dose creates a positive response.Muscles and bones put under stress —for example, with weight-bearing exercise — also respond and grow.Harper acknowledged that the positive effects he's observed may be the result of the placebo effect, a phenomenon in which people who are given a medicine they think will help them report responding to the treatment even if it had no active ingredients. In the case of cold-water immersion, the benefits may come from meeting people, the exercise itself, or simply accepting a challenge and accomplishing it, which improves self-confidence, he said.“Personally, I think it’s all of those things, and the cold has an additive effect,” Harper said. “I think we have a good physiological basis for that. The basic science tells us the cold has a very strong effect on the body.“What we’re talking about is an intervention, when it's used clinically, that produces beneficial effects on mental health. So in a way it doesn’t matter which aspect is generating the positive effects.”Harper cited what he said was a common reaction among first-timers who have taken the plunge.They often say “the fact that I’ve done this means I can do anything,” he said. “It’s quite a confidence builder and it’s something people stick to because they enjoy it so much.” Know the risks when you start Dr. Mike Tipton, a physiologist at the University of Portsmouth in England who has studied extreme environments, authored a paper along with Harper and two more researchers several years ago. The title highlighted the potential advantages and dangers of stimulating the body with a sudden drop in temperature: “Cold Water Immersion: Kill or Cure.” “Like other environmental constituents such as pressure, heat and oxygen, cold water can be either good or bad, threat or treatment depending on circumstance,” they wrote after reviewing the research then available on the topic. One of their findings: The activity presents dangers. Deaths from cold-water immersion are not uncommon. The shock of frigid water can cause people to hyperventilate and drown. But Tipton told The AP the risks can be managed with common sense and precautions.You do not need to go to extremes to get a potential payoff. Entering water at a temperature of 20-15 degrees Celsius (68-59F) and staying for only a few minutes is sufficient.Tipton explained if the water is colder than that, you may get more benefit — but limit your exposure.“If you ask me what protocol you would follow if you thought this was going to be doing you good, I wouldn't go in water much below 12C (54F), and I wouldn’t stay in for much more than two minutes,” Tipton said.Tipton and Harper both said that any benefits from cold-water immersion come from the body's cold-shock response: the sudden fall of skin temperature, the release of the stress hormones, the release of endorphins, and the anti-inflammatory effect. Tipton cautioned against long spells in an ice bath.“Sitting in water for as long as I can fills me with horror,” Tipton said. "This could destroy small nerves, blood vessels in extremities and could result in amputation the same way frostbite can."Harper, who has swum as long as four-hour stretches in open water, advised vigilance.“People think it’s got to be super cold, super long and the longer the better,” Harper said, "and that’s wrong.” Be safe. You're a tropical animal Tipton said he's not trying to be the “fun police” but suggested caution and a medical screening if you take the plunge. He said humans are considered “tropical animals” who need to adapt to the cold and are better suited to warm conditions. A human’s resting body temperature is about 36.5 to 37.5 degrees Celsius (97.7 to 99.5F). Because of that, cold-water immersion is stressful and carries risks for the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Not to mention the risk of drowning.“We don’t want to stop people doing it, but we want to make sure they do it in a way that maximizes the benefits and minimizes the risks,” Tipton said.He suggested swimming in a life-guarded area, or going with experienced outdoor swimmers. He also suggested knowing the body of water you're swimming in. Hazards, among others, include tides, temperature, depth and pollution.“Understand that taking a tropical animal and putting it in cold water is probably the greatest stress that most people will experience in their life,” Tipton said.He suggested entering the water in a controlled fashion instead of jumping in. "Be sensible about it,” he said. “Incremental is the key.”Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See – Sept. 2025

Millions rely on dwindling Colorado River — but are kept 'in the dark' about fixes, critics say

Negotiations aimed at solving the Colorado River's water shortage are at an impasse. Environmentalists are criticizing a lack of public information about the closed-door talks.

The Colorado River, which provides water across the Southwest, has lost about 20% of its flow in the last quarter-century, and its depleted reservoirs continue to decline. But negotiations aimed at addressing the water shortage are at an impasse, and leaders of environmental groups say the secrecy surrounding the talks is depriving the public of an opportunity to weigh in.Representatives of the seven states that depend on the river have been meeting regularly over the last two years trying to hash out a plan to address critical shortages after 2026, when the current rules expire. They meet in-person at offices and hotels in different states, never divulging the locations.The talks have been mired in persistent disagreement over who should have to cut back on water and by how much.“We need more transparency, and we need more accountability,” said Kyle Roerink, executive director of the Great Basin Water Network. “I think if we had more of those things, we wouldn’t be in the situation that we are currently in.”Roerink and leaders of five other environmental groups criticized the lack of information about the stalled negotiations, as well as the Trump administration’s handling of the situation during a news conference Wednesday as they released a report with recommendations for solving the river’s problems.Roerink said there is “a failure of leadership” among state and federal officials, and “everybody else is being left in the dark.”Disagreements over how mandatory water cuts should be allotted have created a rift between two camps: the three downstream or lower basin states — California, Arizona and Nevada — and the four states in the river’s upper basin — Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico. State officials have talked publicly about the spat, but much of the debate is happening out of the public eye.“This process is a backroom negotiation,” said Zachary Frankel, executive director of the Utah Rivers Council. “We need to shift the governance of the Colorado River Basin ... back into the halls of democracy so that people can get engaged.” Frankel said the limited details that have filtered out of the negotiators’ “secret backrooms” indicate officials are still debating water cuts far smaller than what’s really needed to deal with the current shortage. He said the Southwest could face “serious water crashes” soon if the region’s officials don’t act faster to take less from the river.The Colorado River provides water for cities from Denver to Los Angeles, 30 Native tribes and farming communities from the Rocky Mountains to northern Mexico.It has long been overused, and its reservoirs have declined dramatically amid unrelenting dry conditions since 2000. Research has shown that the warming climate, driven largely by the use of fossil fuels, has intensified the long stretch of mostly dry years. Water overflows Lake Mead into spillways at Hoover Dam in 1983 near Boulder City, Nev. (Bob Riha Jr. / Getty Images) Near Las Vegas, Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir, is now just 32% full.Upstream from the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, the country’s second-largest reservoir, is at 29% of capacity.“We’re using a third too much water. There’s no accountability for the fact that the reservoirs are disappearing,” Frankel said. “And we’re not even looking at what the drop in future flows is going to be from climate change.”California uses more Colorado River water than any other state, and has been reducing water use under a three-year agreement adopted in 2023. As part of the water-saving efforts, Imperial Valley farmers are temporarily leaving some fields dry in exchange for cash payments.A large portion of the water is used for agriculture, with much of it going to grow hay for cattle, as well as other crops including cotton, lettuce and broccoli. The main sticking point in the negotiations is how much and when the upper basin states are willing to share in the cuts, said J.B. Hamby, California’s Colorado River commissioner. “The river is getting smaller. We need to figure out how to live with less, and the upper basin absolutely must be part of that,” Hamby said in an interview. “We are running out of time.”The new rules for dealing with shortages must be adopted before the end of 2026, and federal officials have given the states “several milestones” in developing a consensus in the coming months, Hamby said. “The clock is ticking,” he said. “And we’re still essentially at square one.” Morning sunlight hits Lone Rock on Lake Powell in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images) Federal officials have not said what they will do if the states fail to reach consensus. The impasse has raised the possibility that the states could sue each other, a path riddled with uncertainty that water managers in both camps have said they hope to avoid. Hamby said he believes solutions lie in a compromise between the upper and lower states, but that will require all of them to stop clinging to “their most aggressive and rigid dreamland legal positions.”Experts have called for urgent measures to prevent reservoirs from dropping to critically low levels.In a study published this week in the journal Nature Communications, scientists found that if current policies remain unchanged, in the coming decades, both Lake Powell and Lake Mead will be at risk of reaching “dead pool” levels — water so low it doesn’t reach the intakes and no longer gets through the dams, meaning it doesn’t flow downstream to Nevada, Arizona, California and Mexico. The researchers said a more “sustainable policy” will require larger water cutbacks throughout the region. Federal officials have said they recognize the need to move quickly in coming up with solutions. In August, Scott Cameron, the Interior Department’s acting assistant secretary for water and science, said “the urgency for the seven Colorado River Basin states to reach a consensus agreement has never been clearer. We cannot afford to delay.”But the coalition of environmental groups raised concerns that federal and state officials are flouting the normal procedures required when making new water rules. The environmental review began under the Biden administration, which announced several options for long-term river management. Roerink and other advocates noted the last time the public received any information about that process was in January, as Biden was leaving office. They said the Interior Department was expected to have released an initial draft plan by now, but that has not happened.“The Trump administration is absolutely missing an opportunity here to get everybody at the table and to get something meaningful done under the time frame that they are obliged to get it done,” Roerink said. “The fact that we’ve heard nothing from the Trump administration is troubling.”

Economic boom or environmental disaster? Rural Texas grapples with pros, cons of data centers

Local leaders see data centers, which help power the world’s shift to artificial intelligence, as a way to keep their towns open. Residents worry their way of life — and water — is at stake.

Subscribe to The Y’all — a weekly dispatch about the people, places and policies defining Texas, produced by Texas Tribune journalists living in communities across the state. LUBBOCK — Kendra Kay loved growing up in the quiet of West Texas. She enjoyed the peacefulness brought in by the open lands. She appreciated how everyone in her community had a purpose and contributed to their way of life. She never wanted the busy noise that came with living in a bustling big city. “That’s why we live here,” Kay, an Amarillo resident, said. Now, Kay and others who have chosen the simpler life are worried that the emerging data center industry that has set its eyes on towns across the Panhandle and rural Texas might upend that agrarian bliss. “What will we have to give up to make sure these data centers can succeed?” she said. Data centers have been around since the 1940s, housing technology infrastructure that runs computer applications, internet servers, and stores the data that comes from them. More recently, data centers are powering artificial intelligence and other internet juggernauts like Google, Amazon and Meta. Related Story Sept. 11, 2025 These newer sprawling data centers have been sold to communities as a boon to their economic development. Rural Texas has become a prized spot for the businesses rushing into the state. Virginia is the only state with more data centers than Texas, which has 391. While most are concentrated in North Texas and other major metro areas, they are increasingly being planned in rural areas. Affordable property rates, wide open spaces, and welcoming local officials have made remote areas attractive. However, the people who live in those areas have grown worried about what incoming centers — which can sit on thousands of acres of land — mean for their lands, homes, and especially, their limited water supply. From the Panhandle to the Rio Grande Valley, Texas’ water supply is limited. The strain is particularly acute in rural West Texas and other areas of the state that face regular drought. Data centers, especially those used for artificial intelligence, can use an extraordinary amount of water. The state does not yet require most data centers to report their water usage. Related Story Sept. 25, 2025 And with new, bigger data centers coming to the state regularly, there are unanswered questions on where the data centers will get the water they need to stay cool. “These new data centers are enormous,” said Robert Mace, executive director of the Meadows Center. “I don’t know where you get the water to do that in a state that’s already water-stressed, not only from drought, but also rapid population growth in both the population and industry.” The concern already exists in the Texas Panhandle, where droughts are common and groundwater supply is declining. There are four data centers planned for the region, including in Amarillo, Turkey, Pampa and Claude. Outside the Panhandle is no different, as AI campuses are expanding in the Permian Basin and 30 data centers are planned for Sulphur Springs, a small town in East Texas. Those plans have residents just as worried. The Amarillo skyline on April 9. The city is considering selling some of its water to a data center. Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune In Amarillo, the City Council is considering a water deal with Fermi America, a company co-founded by former U.S. Energy Secretary and Texas Gov. Rick Perry. The campus would span 5,800 acres in nearby Carson County and include 18 million square feet for data centers. Perry said in June that the project is part of a national push to stay competitive in the global energy and technology sectors. A group of residents, including Kay, see the deal as a threat. They protested the deal in front of the Potter County courthouse in late September. “We’re ready for more community conversations about the use of this and with Fermi,” Kay said. Trent Sisemore, a former Amarillo mayor who Fermi tapped to lead community engagement, said the data center will offer good jobs. The Panhandle was also chosen, the company said ealier, because of its proximity to natural gas pipelines, high-speed fiber and other infrastructure. “The deployment brings tremendous growth and economic stability to our community,” Sisemore said. Part of Amarillo’s water supply comes from the Ogallala Aquifer, which is also the main water supply for farmers and ranchers in the region, and it is being drained at rates faster than it can be replenished. Agriculture production is the lifeblood of the High Plains, and the success of the region depends on the success of farmers and ranchers. Organizers of the protest at the Potter County courthouse have stressed that incoming data centers are dangerous because of the ripple effect that could happen in a region already under water restrictions. Kay pointed to similar communities, such as Lenoir, North Carolina and Henrico County, Virginia, where there is a constant expansion of data centers pushing into rural areas. The expansions bring the likelihood of noise and water pollution, along with a jump in electricity prices with it. “We would never move somewhere that’s more busy and loud,” Kay said. “We like our quiet streets.” “It’s exciting when it comes to data centers” Economic success in Ector County, which includes Odessa, has long been dependent on oil rigs. For local officials, a 235-acre data center in Penwell is a chance to diversify the economy. The abundance of natural gas, untapped land and untreated water, makes the region ideal, said County Judge Dustin Fawcett. “It’s exciting when it comes to data centers,” said Fawcett. “Not only are we using that produced water, we’re also using the excess natural gas we have, so we get to be more efficient with the products we’re mining.” With one planned near Odessa, where water supply has been a consistent problem for both quantity and quality, some residents aren’t so sure. “We don’t have an abundance of water out here,” said Jeff Russell, an Odessa resident and former vice president of the Odessa Development Corporation. “We have an abundance of bad water, but we don’t have an abundance of good water.” Amarillo business owners and community leaders tour the Edge Data Center at the Region 16 Education Service Center on March 19. The data center is much smaller than some of the new ones planned for other parts of rural Texas. Credit: Angelina Marie for The Texas Tribune Fawcett said as officials look into these agreements with data centers, they don’t want to pull water from the municipal supply — they want to tap into brackish and produced water, which is a byproduct of oil and gas extraction. He hopes that data centers can help them get closer to harnessing produced water on a large scale instead of shooting it back into the earth. Just like the Panhandle, there are a slew of data centers either planned or already in dry West Texas. Sweetwater and El Paso have projects in the works, while small towns like Snyder are actively promoting their land as a good site for interested businesses. Yi Ding, an assistant professor at Purdue University in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, said some states have started introducing regulations that prevent data centers from using drinking water. Texas doesn’t, which could become a problem in the near future. “This is a concern in other states,” said Ding, who has researched the environmental impact of data centers. “You don’t want data centers competing for water used in people’s daily lives.” While state planners don’t have a concrete way of tracking how much water data centers are using in Texas or how much will be needed in the future, some centers are already looking to make their systems more efficient. This includes using different cooling methods, such as gels, which would decrease the amount of water they use. However, Ding compared it to a theory that says techniques can be improved over time, but it opens the door for more consumption. “When something becomes more efficient, people use it more,” Ding said. “So total water consumption doesn’t significantly drop, unless there’s a significant paradigm shift in terms of cooling.” Sisemore, who is Fermi’s ambassador to Amarillo, said they want to use water efficiently and protect the resource, and will be using a system that continuously circulates cooling fluid, which uses less water. “If there's better technology, that’s what we’re going to use,” Sisemore said. “Wealth here is the water” Will Masters has spent the last decade working on ways to replenish the Ogallala Aquifer. His efforts focus on conservation and using other methods, such as playa lakes, to restore the groundwater that’s been drained for more than 50 years. The Panhandle area sits on one of the deepest parts of the aquifer, which means it likely has more water than regions further south. Masters, who lives in Amarillo, wants to ensure the Panhandle doesn’t push its geographical luck. “Wealth here is the water,” said Masters, one of the founders for Ogallala Life, a nonprofit in the region. “If the water is not here, this area is impoverished.” When Amarillo residents held their protest last month, it was to both fight against data centers coming to the city and inform others of the potential risks facing their water supply — including the risks to the Ogallala Aquifer. Masters said the idea of accepting the water being drained more in exchange for a limited amount of jobs is a bad deal. Will Masters, the co-founder of Ogallala Life, listens to community members speak during an event on water usage by the Fermi America data center on Sept. 20. Credit: Phoebe Terry for The Texas Tribune “City leaders are trying to find a way to keep their cities alive,” Masters said. “So we have developers coming in with ideas to bring in money and jobs, temporarily, but it’s causing more problems.” Amarillo Mayor Cole Stanley said the council’s priority is protecting the city’s water and to get a good deal if they decide to sell any of it to Fermi for its data center, which will sit about 35 miles north of the city’s limits in Carson County. The company has asked for 2.5 million gallons of water a day, and there’s talks it could go up to 10 million gallons. By comparison, Stanley said the city uses 50 million gallons a day. “We’ll charge them more than a regular customer because they’re outside the city and require them to put in their own infrastructure,” Stanley said. “Then we’ll be the beneficiary of the additional jobs that pay well, new residents who build homes and put in additional businesses. It’ll be really good economically for the growth of Amarillo.” Stanley acknowledged there will be challenges. “The cons are how fast do you grow? Can those growing pains be forecasted?” he said in an interview with The Texas Tribune. “Can we plan strategically so we’re ready for that amount of growth?” Stanley said he has spoken with residents and heard their concerns. At the same time, he said Fermi America will need to lead the conversation since it’s outside city limits. His role comes later, he said, as the business finalizes its plans. “Fermi America is going to need to step up and hold their own forums and engage with those citizens directly,” Stanley said. “Just like any business deal would be handled. It would be very unfair for me to take a lead in any of those conversations, not knowing who the players are or what the full potential is.” Latest in the series: Running Out: Texas’ Water Crisis Loading content … Sisemore, the community lead for the project, said the U.S. is being outpaced by China when it comes to coal, gas and nuclear generation. He said the next war will be won because of AI, and this is an opportunity for the community to help America win it. He said he understands where the trepidation from residents is coming from — comparing it to when people were concerned about Bell Helicopter, a company focused on producing military aircraft, came to Amarillo. Sisemore wants to help inform them by bringing in experts to give them more information. An attendee holds a sign boycotting a proposed data center at a protest in front of the Potter County Courthouse on Sept. 20. Credit: Phoebe Terry for The Texas Tribune “Everybody has a right to their opinion, and we can all learn from each other,” Sisemore said. Town halls are expected to begin in November. Disclosure: Google has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. Shape the future of Texas at the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, happening Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin! We bring together Texas’ most inspiring thinkers, leaders and innovators to discuss the issues that matter to you. Get tickets now and join us this November. TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.

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