What is chloride?
Chloride is one of the two components of sodium chloride, also known as table salt or rock salt. It is also one of the two components of potassium chloride, also known as potassium tablets or potassium crystals.

Why is chloride bad for water?
Too much chloride in the water can damage agricultural crops by causing leaf burn or drying of leaf tissue, thereby reduce crop yields. It also can harm aquatic life.

Why is it necessary to reduce chloride levels in the Santa Clara River?
The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board) has set a water quality limit of 100 milligrams per liter (parts per million) for the Santa Clara River . Regional Board officials believe that this limit is necessary to protect downstream farmers growing sensitive agricultural crops, such as avocados and strawberries, that use river water for irrigation. In addition, the Santa Clara River is home to a number of endangered species, including steelhead trout, the Santa Ana sucker, the unarmored three-spine stickleback fish, and the Southwestern Arroyo toad. Currently the concentration of chloride being discharged to the river is twice the acceptable level established by the state.

How does chloride end up in the Santa Clara River?
In Santa Clarita, after we use water for washing dishes, showering, laundering, flushing toilets, and other uses, the “wastewater” that’s left goes to the sewer. From there it flows to either the Saugus Water Reclamation Plant or the Valencia Water Reclamation Plant for treatment. These treatment plants are owned and operated by the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County , and they put water into the Santa Clara River after it has been treated. While the treatment plants remove many impurities and polluting substances from wastewater, they are not designed to remove chloride. The chloride in wastewater goes through the treatment plants to the Santa Clara River .

I always thought that most of the chloride in the Santa Clara River comes from industrial, rather than residential, use. Isn’t that true?
No. Most of the chloride in the Santa Clara River comes from residences, both from on-site regeneration of automatic water softeners and from chloride that already exists in the drinking water from your tap – these are the biggest sources. Small amounts of chloride also come from soaps, detergents and other cleaning products, particularly laundry products.

The discharge of chloride from industrial and commercial businesses is regulated by the Sanitation Districts, and Santa Clarita businesses have been prevented from using automatic water softeners since 1961.

How can I help reduce the amount of chloride going to the Santa Clara River?
If you have an automatic water softener, also known as a self-regenerating water softener or rock salt softener, the most important thing you can do is to stop discharging the salty waste (called brine) from it into the sewer system. Unplug it today and explore alternatives to your automatic water softener.

Other steps you can take are to use non-chlorine bleach instead of chlorine bleach and to minimize the amount of laundry detergents and fabric softeners that you use, since many of these products contain chloride. You can find environmentally sound detergents and cleaners at most grocery stores.

How do I know if I have an automatic water softener?
If you add salt or potassium to your water softener or have a water conditioning service do so, then you have an automatic water softener. If you have a water conditioning service change out the tank on your water softener on a regular basis, then you have a portable exchange tank system.

But I like my automatic water softener. Can I continue to use it?
Technically, yes. However, the Sanitation Districts have passed ordinances that prohibit new installation of automatic water softeners. They also have launched an outreach campaign asking all automatic water softener users to unplug their machines today.

If your softener breaks down, you cannot install a replacement—you’ll have to find an alternative (see below). You also cannot transfer your system when you move within the Santa Clarita Valley. Residents who violate the new ordinances banning the installation of self-regenerating water softeners will be subject to a fine of up to $1000 and/or imprisonment not to exceed 30 days.

If I use potassium chloride in my water softener instead of sodium chloride, will that help eliminate the problem?
No. Although potassium chloride does not contain sodium, it still contains chloride.

Can I divert the brine waste from the sewer system by installing a drain line into my yard, so that the discharged water can irrigate my lawn?
No, we do not recommend irrigating with brine waste, even if you use potassium chloride in your water softener. Irrigation with brine waste requires a permit from the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, and such permits are costly and difficult to obtain.

I don’t like the quality of the water coming into my home. How can I treat it without using an automatic water softener?
A number of different treatment systems are available for the water you use in your home. If you need soft water, you can switch to an alternative means of softening your water, such as an exchange tank water softening system. Some vendors offer non-salt treatment units for conditioning water. Depending on your needs, you may also consider filtration, activated carbon, or reverse osmosis treatment units.

Filtration simply stated, removes suspended matter from water by mechanical “screening.” Basic filters usually are porous beds of insoluble material. Other examples include cast forms, plates of sheet material, synthetic membranes, finely perforated plastic or specially sized beds of inert particles. Suspended silt, clay, colloids, and some microorganisms are removed by the filtration process. Simple cartridge filters may be effective for low levels of turbidity.

Activated Carbon Filtration systems involve the adhesion of one material on the surface of a second solid substance based on opposing electrical charges of each material. These systems are widely used to eliminate certain hazardous compounds related to industrial wastes, chemicals and pesticides. This treatment method can also remove unpleasant tastes and odors caused by decaying organic matter, dissolved gases, and residual chlorine.

Reverse Osmosis methods employ a unit divided into two chambers by a semi-permeable membrane. One of the chambers contains “raw” water with undesirable constituent(s) (e.g., salt). Reverse osmosis involves the application of pressure to the side of the chamber containing the “raw” water. This forces the water to leave the contaminated chamber and flow through the treatment membrane into the “treated” water chamber, leaving the unwanted minerals behind, which are then rinsed to the drain. The membrane filters the water on a molecular scale. Reverse osmosis provides partially demineralized water.

The American Ground Water Trust, state health departments, water well construction agencies, local health officials or ground water industry professionals are sources for assistance and/or referral to qualified water testing services. It is important to have an independent water analysis. Look for a professional who understands your water chemistry, explains your treatment options and who pays attention to the details specific to your home and water supply. Before purchasing major conditioning equipment, obtain information and bids from more than one conditioning company. You may want to check on the reputation of the company by contacting your local Better Business Bureau.

(Descriptions and suggestions above provided by the American Ground Water Trust.)

Why can’t the Sanitation Districts treat our tap water to make it softer and eliminate the need for water softener systems?
It is not within the Sanitation Districts’ purview to treat and serve drinking water. Any decision to further treat tap water would have to be made by the local water agencies in the Santa Clarita Valley. You can contact your water company to make your views known.

Note that it may be very costly and difficult to treat all of the tap water in the Santa Clarita area, since half of the potable (drinkable) water in the area comes from groundwater wells, and it is the water from the groundwater wells that is hard. Water treatment equipment would have to be installed and maintained at numerous wellhead locations that are scattered around the Santa Clarita Valley or combined to develop a centralized treatment facility and new distribution system.

But it’s not a problem for the vast majority of residents— most of the residences in the Santa Clarita area do not currently use automatic water softeners.

Why can’t the existing treatment plants be modified to take out the chloride?
They can be modified, but the treatment needed (microfiltration and reverse osmosis) is very costly. It will cost the Sanitation Districts and its customers more than $300 million to construct additional treatment to remove chloride from wastewater if the amount of chloride entering the sewers is not reduced by residents. Approximately 50 percent of this expense is due to the cost of installation of a 46-mile pipe (brine line) to take the salt waste produced during treatment to the ocean and the installation of a three-mile underwater pipe at the ocean.

If the Sanitation Districts have to build new treatment facilities, will my sewage costs increase?
Yes. The cost of new facilities would have to be borne by residents and businesses of the Santa Clarita Valley, with sewage rates expected to increase by three times the current level, if the cost is equally distributed among all residences. If only users of self-regenerating water softeners are charged for the treatment, the cost could be approximately $2,000 per year per household with an automatic water softener.

I still have questions. Who can I talk to for more information?
If you have any further questions about the ordinances or want more information about your choices, you may call the Sanitation Districts toll-free at 1-877-CUT-SALT or visit their chloride web site at www.lacsd.org/chloride.

LA County Sanitation District