Water
OVERVIEW
Overview:
The Santa Susana Field Lab is a headwater for the Los Angeles River and reaches Ventura County’s Calleguas Creek Watershed through the Arroyo Simi. Both watersheds terminate at the Pacific Ocean.
When it rains, the Santa Susana Field Lab can discharge 187,000,000 gallons of contaminated rainwater from the site into local waterways per day.
The Santa Susana Field Lab is located on a plateau — contaminated water from the site naturally wants to flow down to the communities in the valleys below.
Boeing has been fined over $1,000,000 for polluting local waterways with contamination from the SSFL.
30% of Simi Valley residents drink a blended water mix from Golden State Water with water from wells that the EPA has stated are at risk of being contaminated by the SSFL.
Boeing loses lawsuit —
LA River protected
PASSFL helped lead the movement to protect the LA River from Boeing’s SSFL pollution.
NPDES Permit
Back in 2023, Parents Against Santa Susana Field Lab joined forces with other environmental groups to push for a stronger NPDES permit (the permit that regulates how much pollution from the Santa Susana Field Lab can enter our local watersheds).
Boeing had already been fined over $1 million for past violations by allowing the lab's lead, arsenic, mercury, radionuclides, and perchlorate, and more to contaminate the surrounding waterways. Yet, Boeing was about to get a weaker permit, allowing them to release even more pollution offsite.
How We Won
During the permit renewal process, public members spoke up, demanding stronger protections for our community’s health and environment. PASSFL and PEER.org made a compelling case to the Los Angeles Water Board, advocating for:
More testing locations for runoff
Stronger pollution limits
A groundwater contamination study
Better detection technology for PCBs and PFAS
We weren’t alone—groups like Heal the Bay, LA Waterkeeper, and Physicians for Social Responsibility - LA, and the Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation fought for the tougher permit too.
The Water Board listened. Board members began questioning why Boeing always got the benefit of the doubt, why they weren’t demanding better data, and why they weren’t taking the community’s health concerns more seriously. By the end of the hearing, the Los Angeles Water Board approved our requests and strengthened the permit. A huge victory!
Boeing Fought Back... and Lost
As soon as the permit was updated, Boeing tried everything to stop it:
They asked the State Water Board to review the decision but were denied.
They filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Water Board.
They asked for a "stay" so they wouldn't have to comply with the new permit while in court—denied again.
The Truth Comes Out
One of the most important changes in the permit forced Boeing to use newer technology to detect PCBs and PFAS. For the first time, these contaminants showed up in Boeing’s reports.
First-quarter results from 2024 revealed:
40+ detections of PCBs (previously “undetected” under older methods)
38 detections of PFAS
Lead levels at 200 ppb (safe drinking water limit: 5 ppb)
Radioactive material found 44 times, including: Gross alpha and beta analytes, Radium-226 & 228, Strontium-90, and Uranium
This proves what we’ve always known—Boeing’s pollution is a serious threat, and they’ve been underreporting it for years. Thanks to our collective efforts, we forced Boeing to reveal the true extent of contamination.
This is your victory. Your voices mattered. The fight isn’t over, but this win is a powerful step toward holding Boeing accountable and protecting our water, health, and future.
DRINKING WATER
Water Study Quotes
“Golden State Water Company operates two municipal drinking water wells (Niles Well and Sycamore Well) that are located between a three to four mile radius to the northwest of the SSFL site. The groundwater is blended [to meet California maximum contamination limits] at the Niles Blending Station with the Calleguas Municipal Water District… Although TCE has not been detected in the Golden State Water Company municipal drinking water supply, the above population may be subjected to potential future contamination from the SSFL site… “
“… Groundwater samples obtained from the aforementioned [Golden State Water] wells, perchlorate, and trichloroethylene (TCE), with concentrations of less than the Maximum Contaminant Limit and Detection Limit but equal to or greater than “trigger” levels, have been reported to the California Department of Health Services files.”
“…It is apparent that hazardous waste constituents have migrated from the unlined pond at the Sodium Disposal Facility… and Chatsworth Formation groundwater system… migration is likely to continue…. early evaluation and evidence of groundwater contamination beneath the SSFL site suggest that there is a high likelihood that migration of contaminants, from leaky surface impoundments, has contributed to groundwater contamination.”
Potential for Offsite Exposures Associated with SSFL: Chapter 4: Water, page 64
Is my drinking water safe?
Your drinking water meets the legal EPA Safe Drinking Water Act regulations that are meant to keep drinking water safe. However, the Act only regulates 90 contaminants, and the SSFL has 350 known contaminants. Drinking water sources near the SSFL may not be tested for these additional contaminants.
Simi Valley’s Golden State Water
30% of Simi Valley residents (approximately 45,000 people) drink partial well water from Golden State Water Company. The two Golden State Water source wells (Niles and Sycamore Wells) are downhill and less than four miles from the Santa Susana Field Lab.
The well water is so heavily contaminated with perchlorate (a toxic chemical) that the well water must be mixed with imported water to meet California's maximum contamination limit (MCL) for perchlorate. However, Golden State Water can serve water that is just below the MCL and can consider it a “non-detect.”
After a meeting with Golden State Water in 2018, we were told that they have tested for tritium (radioactive water) twice in the last twelve years, even though tritium is a well-known contaminant from the SSFL.
We have learned that Golden State Water uses 10-67% well water at any time.
What we don’t know:
Has Golden State Water again for tritium?
What is keeping Golden State Water from testing for tritium regularly?
When does Golden State Water use 10% well water, and when does it use more?
How often does Golden State Water test for contamination after blending their water? Do they test when they use the least well water or the most?
Local Watersheds
The Santa Susana Field Lab is connected to two tributary (contributing) waterways of important watersheds in Southern California.
The backside of the SSFL drains into the Arroyo Simi (without being filtered first), a tributary of the Callagues Creek Watershed.
The Calleguas Creek Watershed is used for:
Drinking water
Recreation
Fishing
Agriculture
Supports wildlife
Reaches the Pacific Ocean
The SSFL is a headwater of the Los Angeles River. The LA River Watershed is far-reaching, making it important to prevent impact from contamination at the SSFL as it has the potential to impact millions of Angelinos.
The LA River Watershed is used for:
Recreation
Fishing
Supports wildlife
Reaches the Pacific Ocean
Boeing Fined $1M
Boeing has violated their National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit consistently, over decades. Even with a 10-year agreement to minimize fines, Boeing still accumulated over $1,000,000 in violation fines for polluting the LA River and the Calleguas Creek Watershed from the Santa Susana Field Lab.
NPDES PERMIT/Rain Runoff
A National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit regulates how much contamination can flow offsite during rain events. However, Boeing’s limits for the Santa Susana Field Lab are regularly exceeded. Due to the advocacy of PASSFL and other water NGOs, Boeing has a stronger NPDES permit as of 2025.
Download flyers: SSFL Surface Water Facts | SSFL Surface Water Pathways
Futher Reading
Joint Comment Letter to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, 2022: Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles, Committee to Bridge the Gap, Parents Against SSFL, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)
Joint Comment Letter to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, 2022: Heal the Bay, Los Angeles Water Keepers, Wishtoyo Foundation, Surfriders Los Angeles
Water Town Hall
GroundWATER
The groundwater at the SSFL is different than the surface water. The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (LARWQCB) is in charge of the contaminated surface water that runs off the SSFL during the rain, polluting local waterways and watersheds. But the surface water isn’t the only problem, the groundwater at the SSFL is an enormous problem, but it seems to get very little attention from the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) who oversees it.
Download flyers: SSFL Surface Water Facts | SSFL Surface Water Pathways
Climate Change
Due to climate change's impacts, future generations of Californians might depend on the groundwater. Even if Boeing were to start aggressive groundwater treatment now, it could take over a century to complete. We owe it to future residents to make sure it’s clean and safe when they need the groundwater under the Santa Susana Field Lab.
Unlined Ponds
Several ponds exist at the SSFL; some are unlined, allowing contamination to potentially seep directly into the groundwater. In Boeing’s NPDES Permit, they are allowed to re-route contaminated rain runoff to into the unlined Silvernale and R-2 Ponds. The DTSC and Boeing have stated that the naturally existing clay prevents contamination from reaching the groundwater. However, PASSFL has strongly criticized this statement and has asked the LARWQCB to demand Boeing do a study in order to back up their statements with data.
Groundwater Talks and Tours
In 2024, the DTSC focused on the groundwater issues in a series of webinars and a site tour. The webinars were held “in cooperation” with the SSFL’s Responsible Parties: Boeing, NASA, and the Department of Energy, a blatant conflict of interest. Boeing’s experts introduce themselves as independent researchers, but in reality, they’ve been hired by Boeing and their bias was obvious.
Groundwater Tour Recap: Boeing’s Groundwater Plans
On Saturday, April 6th, 2024, residents were invited to go on a tour of the Santa Susana Field Lab to discuss the groundwater contamination. Here's Melissa Bumstead’s recap of Boeing’s presentation:
The cleanup option Boeing’s experts pushed the hardest for was natural attenuation which is literally doing nothing for centuries, which is obviously the cheapest and slowest option for cleaning the SSFL groundwater. How convenient for Boeing that their experts would recommend the cheapest option, even if it leaves our groundwater contaminated and Simi's drinking water at risk.
Boeing's scientists showed us core samples from the SSFL and talked a lot about how they were preeminent experts on hydrology. I asked them to clarify their relationship with Boeing at which point they admitted they were paid consultants, but also educators too, and they claimed no conflict of interest. I found that hard to believe when one of the experts kept saying how "insignificant" the pollution at the SSFL is (there's a huge TCE plume, in addition to other contamination) and how it was a "mystery" how the groundwater got contaminated (decades of rocket engines tests and spills/leaks from nuclear reactors did it).
Boeing's expert said that the complete cleanup of the Santa Susana Field Lab's groundwater would cost tax-payers a billion dollars and wouldn't we rather put that money towards schools, roads, and emergency services? I reminded him that Boeing will pay for the groundwater cleanup on Boeing's property, not tax-payers, at which point he changed the subject.
The Boeing experts told us that the contaminated groundwater isn't coming offsite or into the local seeps or springs. I told them that the pollution had been found offsite at the Brandeis Bardin campus well, at which point they said that there is some migration offsite and they haven't seen it at the seeps and springs because it might take a while longer for the contamination to reach them.
The brought us to Boeing's Groundwater Extraction Treatment System (GETS) and told us how effectively it was cleaning groundwater at the SSFL. Jeni pointed out that the GETS hadn't been running for two years, at which point he told us that it was offline because it hadn't been doing a good job but they had every intention of turning it back on soon, once they figure out how to fix it.
Overall, I was shocked by the levity of Boeing's experts towards our groundwater's contamination. They left out important details and clearly had an agenda that will profit Boeing and not the public.
Chatsworth Reservoir
The Chatsworth Reservoir was built in 1919 by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to store drinking water for the San Fernando Valley, primarily for agricultural uses and drinking water.
The reservoir was drained in 1969, though many reports say it was drained in 1972 after an earthquake. The Chatsworth Reservoir is believed to have pooled contamination from the SSFL and in addition to work from other aerospace facilities in the area, the LADWP was not able to use the Chatsworth Reservoir for water due to the contamination, as stated in a letter.
