Left to right: Marshall Loring, retired engineer; Linda Corwin, CCAC Vice-President; Evelyn Szelenyi, member of Tom Lantos' staff; Representative Lantos; Denise Johnson-Kula, CCAC President; Jeff Hoel, CCAC Advisory Board Member; and Bob Vetter, former President of the Board of the North Coast County Water District (NCCWD).

Public comment at SFPUC Water Board Meeting, at 1:30 PM, Room 400, July 25, 2006

San Francisco residents address board about health effects they and their family members experienced after chloramine was added to their water.

CCAC Vice-president Linda Corwin and President Denise Johnson-Kula urge board to take action to remove chloramine from the public water supply until its safety is established by health studies.

President of the SFPUC Board Richard Sklar asks SFPUC Assistant General Manager Michael Carlin if there are any studies on the skin and respiratory effects of chloramine. Michael Carlin answers that he knows of none.

Art Jensen, General Manager of Bay Area Water Supply Conservation Agency (BAWSCA), addresses SFPUC Board. Mr. Jensen states that he requested studies from the EPA and several other agencies, and came up blank.

The SFPUC Board says it will investigate the existence of health studies on chloramine, other than those on trihalomethane formation. Commissioner Dennis Normandy said that the Board would like to work closely with CCAC to resolve the issue. The SFPUC Board would meet back in about a month to present the findings.

Sacramento Sucker Catostomus occidentalis (from Urban Creeks Council)

Back row: Mr. Yang, Donna Schaefer, Marty McGrath, Treasurer Bruce Dronek, President Denise Johnson-Kula, Kory Trebbin, Webmaster Gerard Lum. Front row: Marilyn Raubitschek, Mrs. Yang, Florence Yuen, Secretary Gregory Kula, Vice-President Linda Corwin, Jackie Kehl, and Rita Solk.

Rashes on woman residing in an area of Mountain View served by the SFPUC. The rashes, which are not just on her legs but over most of her body, began after the introduction of chloramine in February 2004. She was completely unaware of chloramine. The three photos above were taken on August 25, 2006, after 2-1/2 years of the rash. Doctors had prescribed expensive cortisone creams and ointments which did not help.

In July 2006 she learned about chloramine after seeing an article in the Mountain View Voice. In September 2006 she stopped bathing in chloraminated tap water. Relief began immediately. Her rashes, hives and dry, cracking and bleeding skin healed. Even the scarring from the extensive skin damage is slowly subsiding. She also discovered that drinking or eating anything prepared in chloraminated water caused a flare-up of the skin symptoms. Now she only uses chloramine free bottled water for cooking and drinking as well as for bathing. Her doctors are stunned by her results. The three photos above were taken on December 19, 2006.

Left: the Champlain Water District in Vermont introduced chloramine in April 2006. The man in the photos started having red skin all over his body, immediately after showering, which lasted a few minutes. Over the next few weeks the redness of his skin lasted longer and longer. His condition worsened until he was covered, from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet, with rashes, welts, open sores and white crusted skin. At that point he figured that it was the water causing this. Photos in left column taken August 2006.

Right: on January 23, 2007, he started showering in an area where chloramine is not used. Photos in right column taken March 19, 2007.

Crust on scalp which developed after introduction of chloramine in April 2006, photos taken November 2006. The crust on his scalp felt like a vise on his head--very tight.

On January 23, 2007, he began showering regularly in an area where chloramine is not used. About a week later, the crust "helmet" on his head began loosening up.

As of April 8, 2007, it has become very loose. It is still in one thick piece but is beginning to lift off. He believes it will be loose enough after maybe mid-April 2007 to come off. He has lost a lot of hair and hopes it will grow back once his scalp is back to normal.

Photo above taken on August 21, 2007. He thought his hair wasn't going to grow back and is thrilled that it did. He shaved his head once so the crust would have an easier time coming off. He'll do it again to get the rest of it off. The only thing he changed was to stop showering in chloraminated water.

To send an email to People Concerned About Chloramine (Vermont), .