The Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians of California will use a $100,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to study drinking water on the reservation.

The tribe wants to make sure the groundwater complies with federal standards. The tribe is concerned about contamination from four trailers parks on the reservation. At one point, tribal embers were drinking bottled water due to concerns about well water.

The EPA has ordered the parks to test for water and once told a waste recycling company on the reservation to stop burning. Separately, the Bureau of Indian Affairs was trying to shut down a dump site.

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$100,000 federal grant to fund water tests (The Riverside Press-Enterprise 2/2)
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