Water quality is not impacted by COVID-19

Published on March 21, 2020

Local water supplies continue to be safe and reliable and are not impacted by COVID-19. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends that Americans continue to use and drink tap water as usual. Further, EPA’s drinking water regulations require treatment at public water systems, which includes PCWA, to remove or kill pathogens, including viruses.

Both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have stated that the COVID-19 virus has not been detected in drinking water and that conventional water treatment methods that use filtration and disinfection, like those used in the Sacramento region, should remove or inactivate the virus that causes COVID-19.

Deliveries of drinking water and canal water will not be impacted by PCWA’s response to COVID-19. While wait times may be longer than normal, Customer Services staff are still available to assist customers by phone (530) 823-4850 or email (customerservices@pcwa.net) between 8:00am and 5:00pm, Monday – Friday.

PCWA is modifying its operations in accordance with local health advisories. Their lobbies are currently closed to until further notice, and PCWA is implementing “social distancing” practices for staff. The health and of safety of staff and customers remains PCWA’s highest priority and the Agency will continue to modify operations in accordance with changing circumstances. https://www.pcwa.net/newsroom/covid-19-faqs 

(For information from the WHO and CDC, please use the following links: https://www.who.int/publications-detail/water-sanitation-hygiene-and-waste-management-for-covid-19 and https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/water.html)