It was in October that Caroline Bennet noticed her skin would burn and itch after she showered. Then her daughter began to say her eyes burned when she bathed, and so did their next-door neighbor in Goleta's Hollister Village. On the Santa Barbara Moms Facebook page, Bennet found that other people across Goleta, from Ellwood to Fairview, were complaining of the same thing, some people saying they checked themselves for lice because their scalp itched so badly. For Goleta Water District, which serves those areas, Bennet's was the first such complaint it received.
Bennet did something few do. She had her shower water tested by KAR Laboratories, online analytical chemists. What came back were chloroform levels nearly double those that her water provider had found. According to Dave Matson, assistant general manager for Goleta Water District, the highest western Goleta test results this year have been 67 and 72 parts per billion. Bennet's test came back with 150 µg/L (micrograms per liter, which is fairly synonymous with parts per billion).
Overall, the district was within state drinking-water guidelines to keep total trihalomethane, or chloroform, levels under 80 µg/L, but as an average over four quarters, according to a report presented at Wednesday's meeting of Goleta Water District's board. Matson said home water-test kits are problematic, as plumbing or other contaminants can affect results. "The mandated testing the district conducts follows strict protocols," Matson explained in an email, "and the results are validated and transmitted to the regulators by state-certified, independent labs."