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Home > Desert Oracle Radio > JBWD to hold special meeting on Wednesday to discuss sewer system, Chromium 6 treatment
Podcast: Desert Oracle Radio
Episode:

JBWD to hold special meeting on Wednesday to discuss sewer system, Chromium 6 treatment
Category: Society & Culture
Duration: 00:00:00
Publish Date: 2026-03-31 15:53:48
Description:

The Joshua Basin Water District are holding a special meeting on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. to discuss a number of items that could affect Joshua Tree residents, even if they aren’t a customer.

First on the agenda a discussion on San Bernardino County’s septic-to-sewer exploration for Joshua Tree. Currently there are plans and money earmarked by the county to explore the possibility of building a sewer system in Joshua Tree, which could possibly open up the area to larger developments that would require tying in to a wastewater treatment system.

The Board is also expected to discuss Chromium-6 testing and will vote on whether to approve a $300,000 “ion exchange treatment” pilot program for reducing the heavy metal from the district’s water supply.

Chromium-6 or Hexavalent Chromium is a naturally occurring element found in rocks, plants, and groundwater. It’s also a result from industrial processes. 

In October of 2024 the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) set a new standard for how much of this heavy metal can occur in drinking water. The federal standard is 100 parts-ber-billion (PPB).

The standard in California was half of the federal level: 50 PPB and Joshua Basin Water District’s levels were less than half of the old standard, coming in at around 23 PPB in January of 2026. 

However, California’s new regulation has dropped the acceptable standard even further to just 10 PPB.

On March 19th, the JBWD board had a lengthy discussion on possible Chromium-6 treatments, and put an early estimated cost to treating JBWD water at 20 to 60 million dollars, a price tag that would have to be passed on to customers through rate increases.

Also on the agenda, a $104,415 bid proposal for the Belmont Pipeline Project as well as a risk and resilience assessment and updated emergency response plan.

That’s all happening at a special meeting of the Joshua Basin Water District Board of Directors at their headquarters located at 61750 Chollita Road.

You can find the full agenda here (PDF link)

You can also attend remotely via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86448003304?pwd=BReQSGLDAsbiwlwa7CRPD3kz414Bhi.1

Previously Reported:

The post JBWD to hold special meeting on Wednesday to discuss sewer system, Chromium 6 treatment appeared first on Z107.7 FM Joshua Tree.
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