California Water Service’s Water Quality Laboratory Reaccredited By State Water Resources Control Board

SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept. 18, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ELAP) has renewed its certification of California Water Service’s (Cal Water) Water Quality Laboratory, enabling the utility to continue conducting in-house testing of water quality samples collected throughout its service areas statewide. The stringent ELAP accreditation, which the utility has held since 1999, is administered by the State Water Resources Control Board.

To maintain the certification, the lab must perform a blind study, or Performance Test, (PT) for every constituent the lab is accredited to test for. The PT sample is a blind sample where both the contaminant and concentration must be identified and reported within established limits to a state-certified, independent testing agency.

Additionally, Cal Water undergoes an onsite audit about every two years to ensure that its practices remain ethical and in accordance with the ELAP Standards. If the lab were to fail the certification or the audit, the laboratory would no longer be permitted to conduct testing for the particular field of testing.

“As part of our commitment to providing our customers with quality, service, and value, we go to great lengths to ensure our water quality experts and equipment are among the best in the industry,” said Martin A. Kropelnicki, President and CEO. “Additionally, by being certified to perform water quality tests in house at our state-of-the-art lab, we are able to keep costs lower for customers, receive test results faster, and maintain a tightly controlled testing environment.”

California Water Service serves about 2 million people through 486,900 service connections in California. The utility has provided water service in the state since 1926. Additional information may be obtained online at www.calwater.com. 

Released September 18, 2019