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That’s because during the winter months, almost half of many Santa Clarita Valley residents’ water comes from the mineral-rich groundwater supply.
Some water-users noticed the difference more this year than in the past, since the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts required them to get rid of their in-home water softeners to help alleviate a salty water problem for farmers downstream.
“Our plates are black on the underside, and it was like talcum powder was on them,” said Doug Zabilski of Saugus. “We’d run them again, and they wouldn’t wash off.
“The residue has been so bad that everything has needed to be re-washed by hand and then towel dried to remove it.”
Zabilski’s home is serviced by the Santa Clarita Water Division, one of four water retailers in the Santa Clarita Valley. During the winter months, almost half of the water coming out of Zabilski’s tap, 46 percent, comes from the ground and is thick with minerals.
The other half comes from the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range via the State Water Project.
During the summer, just 34 percent of Santa Clarita Water Division’s water is from underground.
Demand is lower in the winter, so the water division cuts back on purchases from the Castaic Lake Water Agency, which wholesales water from the State Water Project to the Santa Clarita Valley’s four water retailers.
State Water Project water is about four times more expensive than groundwater, so the water division leans on its wells when it can, said General Manager Mauricio Guardado. The groundwater has higher concentrations of calcium and magnesium than does the state water.
“That doesn’t mean it’s bad water. It’s a good source of water,” Guardado said.
Newhall County Water District is faced with the same hard decisions year after year, General Manager Stephen Cole said.
“Hard water is definitely harder to deal with, but it helps keep our rates lower,” Cole said.
Still, water resource planner Cathy Hollomon said she fields “several calls a week” from customers unhappy with the hardness.
She suspected many of the complaints came from customers who had to remove their water softeners following a state mandate to reduce the level of salt in the Santa Clara River. Local voters approved a measure in November 2008 to ban salt-based water softeners.
“These particular residents have never experienced hard water,” Hollomon said.
Zabilski said his friends and neighbors have the same problem with powdery mineral deposits in their washing machines and dishwashers.
He went to area Walmarts to purchase a product called Lemi Shine, which cleans hard water residue from dishwashers.
The stores were all sold out.
Zabilski has since installed a water softener that’s not salt-based.
Hollomon said the water division averages rates over the entire year, so residents pay the same amount whether they’re battling hard-water spots in winter or enjoying the dishwasher-friendlier state water in summer.
She had this advice for those who lack water softeners: Flush hard-water deposits from the dishwasher or similar appliances by running an empty load with some vinegar.
