Which Georgia Communities Have Chromium 6 In Their Water — And How Much?

A new report shows drinking water supplies in Georgia have the cancer-causing toxin chromium 6, though nowhere near the levels made famous in Julia Roberts’ 2000 Oscar-winning film based on the real-life environmentalist Erin Brockovich’s investigation of groundwater in Hinkley, California.

High concentrations of Chromium 6 has been linked to cancer, reproductive problems and liver problems, but none of the measurements in Georgia communities come close to the levels in Hinkley — about 1.19 parts per billion, with a peak of 3.09 ppb — according to the report from the Environmental Working Group.

Furthermore, none of the local water on the list exceeds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum of 100 parts per billion of total chromium.

The Environmental Working Group identified towns that exceed 0.02 parts per billion in tap water, a level that California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment set as a public health goal in 2011. The goal was set after Brockovich was successful in building a case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) of California in 1993 that blamed the company for contaminating local water.

Officials in California believe even that level of the contaminant can be harmful and pose a cancer threat — not just for people who drink the water, but also bathe in it or have any contact.

The Environmental Working Group, a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to protecting human health and the environment, analyzed federal data from nationwide drinking water tests showing that the compound contaminates water supplies for more than 200 million Americans in all 50 states.

"Yet federal regulations are stalled by a chemical industry challenge that could mean no national regulation of a chemical state scientists in California and elsewhere say causes cancer when ingested at even extraordinarily low levels," according to the report.

Here is the list of area water commissions and countywide agencies that were tested for chromium 6. Click on the link for complete findings.

Athens-Clarke County Water System - Population Served: 120,266

Atlanta - Population Served: 650,000

Bartow County - Population Served: 50,162

Cartersville - Population Served: 24,830

Canton - Population Served: 14,300

Cherokee County - Population Served: 145,389

Cobb County - Population Served: 533,000

College Park - Population Served: 20,382

Cumming - Population Served: 47,541

DeKalb County - Population Served: 670,000

Douglasville-Douglas County Authority - Population Served: 109,694

East Point - Population Served: 33,712

Forsyth County Water & Sewer - Population Served: 138,368

Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources - Population Served: 795,657

Lawrenceville - Population Served: 24,000

Loganville - Population Served: 10,923

Marietta - Population Served: 60,100

Monroe - Population Served: 21,739

North Fulton County - Population Served: 172,533

Oconee County - Watkinsville - Population Served: 19,227

Paulding County Water System - Population Served: 113,204

Powder Springs - Population Served: 14,000

Roswell - Population Served: 14,300

Smyrna - Population Served: 35,000

Union City - Population Served: 18,636

Walton Co. Water & Sewer Authority - Population Served: 36,387

Woodstock - Population Served: 10,070

Find more at the interactive map at EWG.org.

Written by Tom Davis with additional reporting by Beth Dalbey. Patch file photo.