Recently, there have been questions raised about the culinary water in Daybreak. Below are some details to help the public understand how the questions came up and the facts involved.
- In mid-October, a Daybreak resident began experiencing skin rashes and irritations
- That resident suspected a problem with their drinking water and purchased a home test kit from Amazon to attempt to determine if there was a problem with the water
- These home tests kits are known to be inaccurate, subject to individual interpretation of subtle changes in color, and can produce varied results depending on how the individual performs the test, particularly if a non-trained person is conducting the test.
- The drinking water in Daybreak comes from the same source—Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District—as the water that is supplied to the entire South Valley including South Jordan, Riverton, Herriman, Draper, Midvale and others. The water system in Daybreak is operated by South Jordan City and is tested regularly to ensure safety. The City and the water district produce separate annual reports about drinking water quality which can be found on their website here.
- After receiving complaints from this resident and a few others after a Facebook post on the Community Facebook Page, South Jordan City took these resident concerns very seriously. The City, along with the water district conducted scientific water testing using a third-party lab and trained professionals to determine if there were problems with the water.
- The water was tested for a variety of metals and other chemicals and was found to be completely safe to drink.
- Additionally, the city engaged the Salt Lake County Health department to conduct a survey of residents to determine if some other localized environmental source could be causing the skin irritations reported by residents. The Health department concluded that there were no issues linking skin irritations that some area residents were experiencing to the environment in the area, and encouraged them to consult their Doctor regarding any medical issues they may have.
- We want to be sure that Utah residents and real estate professionals are aware of these facts and are not reliant on speculation or rumors when making decisions or advising clients about home purchases.
- Given the environmental history of Daybreak, we understand that there are many rumors that come up from time to time regarding the environmental safety of the area. We want to assure you that Daybreak is probably the most studied and documented piece of land in the state as a result of prior mining activities on the site. We have created a white paper that contains additional detailed information about this topic which you and your clients can access here, should you care to learn more.
- The important thing to remember is that only a small portion of the community was impacted by the evaporation ponds that were once here. The cleanup effort that took place in the 1990’s was overseen by the EPA and the State department of environmental quality. It was given a clean bill of health by these agencies upon completion, and continued testing occurs as part of the standard due diligence process that every development undergoes when each new development plat is created.
