Water testing guidance issued

By Jay Wrolstad

The discovery of drinking water tainted by lead in local schools has grabbed the attention of parents, school officials, public health authorities and even U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. It has also prompted concerns about the water quality in homes among area residents.

 

The good news is that Ithaca is not Flint, Michigan; there is little evidence of lead contamination in local water systems, either public or private. But those with older plumbing in their homes may want to take a closer look at their pipes and fixtures.

 

Theresa Lyczko, director of the Health Promotion Program and Public Information officer at the Tompkins County Health Department, says that the Health Department has recently received inquiries from homeowners regarding the possible presence of lead in their water. In response, the department has updated its website that includes a page listing resources for residents that supplements information about the situation in local schools (http://tompkinscountyny.gov/health/schooldrinkingwater).

 

“We have new information on the website, including letters sent to schools and parents, EPA guidance for removing lead from water in schools and a list of local water testing labs,” Lyczko says.

 

• The Health Department notes that there is no history of any children in Tompkins County who have had elevated blood lead levels from drinking water. Some 70 children from the Ithaca City School District (ICSD) have been tested, the department reports, with no cases of elevated blood levels due to drinking water.
• Lead typically enters drinking water as a result of corrosion, or wearing away, of materials containing lead in the water distribution system and plumbing, the department states, adding that low levels of lead in drinking water are common. It is not absorbed through the skin during activities like hand washing, bathing or showering.
• Steve Penningroth, Executive Director of the Community Science Institute (CSI), an Ithaca-based water testing lab, explains that public water systems, serving 25 or more people, are required by the EPA to test for lead and to issue annual water quality reports. “In our area that is Cornell University, the City of Ithaca and the Bolton Point water plant. Non-public systems do not face the same requirement,” he says.
• Schools and daycare centers, for example, that receive water from public systems are responsible for lead testing inside their buildings, after the water has left the public distribution system, says Penningroth. The same applies for residents who want to determine if their plumbing has added lead to the water.
• “The water mains are not made of lead, but connecting lines could be lead. Meanwhile, we have plumbing infrastructure, including brass fixtures, lead solder and some water fountains, that are potential sources of lead at the point of use,” Penningroth says.
• “For well users the situation is similar, but they must know for a fact that their water is clean and that their pipes are safe,” says Penningroth. He adds that it is “highly unlikely” there is lead in local ground water.

Individuals may have their water evaluated by local testing labs, including CSI and Yaws Environmental Lab in Ithaca. Residents with concerns are advised to test their pipes, fixtures and/or solder for lead. Lyczko notes that prior to 2014, brass fixtures with up to 8 percent lead could be labeled as lead-free; now the limit is .25 percent. The National Sanitation Foundation (www.nsf.org) is a good source for information about the possible impacts of plumbing fixtures on drinking water, she adds.

 

“One action people can take is to run the water through a faucet for 15 to 30 seconds before drinking or cooking with it, especially if no water has been used for hours, which flushes lead from systems with suspect plumbing,” Lyczko says.

• Penningroth says individuals can get their water tested for lead by visiting CSI, where they will receive a bottle from the lab and instructions on how to collect the water samples. For more information go to http://communityscience.org.

Meanwhile, ICSD Superintendent Luvelle Brown announced last week that water in all of the districts schools would be shut off, following the discovery that water tests performed in 2005 showed elevated levels of lead in the water in nearly every school in the district (see story on page 9). The district is providing bottled water for students and staff while they determine their next course of action.

 

Schumer has taken notice of the problem with lead in Ithaca-area schools’ water and has asked that the Environmental Protection Agency do something about it, according to a news release from Schumer’s office on Friday.

 

In a letter to EPA Region 2 Administrator Judith Enck, Schumer requested the agency, “use its technical expertise to quickly assist the community of Ithaca, New York in testing their water for lead contamination. I also urge the EPA to assist Ithaca in defining the scope and source of this lead contamination, and to help them devise a plan to eradicate it.”

EPA’s region 2 consists of New York and New Jersey.

 

Schumer has also been taking action against the broader problem of lead poisoning throughout Upstate New York. In a press release on Wednesday, Schumer urged congress to vote on legislation that would help New Yorkers remove lead-bearing agents, such as lead-based paint, from their home by providing tax credits.