Water Pipe Lead Poisoning of Drinking Water
Published July 11, 2004
BWL to
replace lead piping to 14,000 Lansing homes
By Tom
Lambert
Lansing State Journal
Lansing's
water supplier has identified 14,000 homes with potential lead poisoning
problems and plans to replace piping going into the homes in the next 10
years.
Until Friday,
however, the Board of Water and Light had no plans to warn homeowners that
the water they are drinking could be dangerous.
Now it will.
People living in all 14,000 homes will be urged to flush their water systems
each morning and avoid drinking and cooking with hot water from their taps.
The utility has
replaced lead piping at several thousand homes over the past 12 years but
gave owners only a few weeks notice that it would go into their homes to
change the pipes - which run underground and connect to the homes' water
heaters - to copper.
But after
inquiries into the policy by the State Journal, utility officials on Friday
decided they would hold public meetings and send letters this week notifying
homeowners whether they have lead pipes. The letters won't say when the
pipes will be replaced.
When asked why
residents weren't told earlier, Sanford Novick, BWL general manager, said:
"Our position is, this isn't an immediate crisis, this is a long-term
situation. It's not like people are going to be poisoned to death starting
today."
That angers
Emily Bourne, who lives on the south side with her husband and 3-month-old
son, Aiden.
"What else
aren't they telling us?" said Bourne, who drank tap water for five months of
her pregnancy. She now uses bottled water.
Most susceptible
Those most at
risk from lead exposure are children 6 and younger and unborn children.
Prolonged exposure to lead weakens the central nervous system and can cause
learning disabilities and other problems.
The BWL has
replaced 2,000 to 3,000 lead pipes in Lansing since 1992, said Clyde Dugan,
the utility's director of special projects.
But with people
becoming more aware of the dangers of lead exposure, the utility decided
this year to step up its replacement initiative and replace the remaining
14,000 pipes over 10 years, at a cost of $30 million to $40 million.
Bill Maier, a
BWL water quality analyst, said a task force was formed in early May to
accomplish that plan.
"We are
replacing these pipes because it could be a problem down the line since they
deteriorate over time," said Maier, also a task force member. "We don't have
to do this, but we are. It's what our customers expect of us."
Citing
confidentiality concerns, the utility wouldn't release the list of the
14,000 homes affected.
The BWL put an
additional $2 million toward the project in this year's budget. In the past,
it took about $500,000 annually out of its $8 million water utilities
capital budget for the work.
The utility has
tested about 290 Lansing homes for lead exposure in the past 12 years, Maier
said. He said less than 10 percent of the tests came back with more than 15
parts per billion of lead - the limit state and federal governments have set
before a utility has to address the issue.
He wouldn't say
specifically how many homes exceeded 15 parts per billion.
Safe to drink
"Our water is
safe to drink," Maier said. "People shouldn't be worried."
Jim Cleland,
assistant chief of the state Department of Environmental Quality's water
division, confirmed that the Board of Water and Light wasn't required by the
state to replace the lead piping.
He also said
that it isn't difficult for homeowners to see if they have lead pipes going
into their homes.
"You should be
able to see the pipe coming from the outside wall and connecting to your
water meter, which is usually in the basement," he said.
Cleland added
that just because homes don't have lead pipes doesn't mean the owners are in
the clear.
"Lead is an
alloy of brass - so fixtures in your home plumbing system, which could be
faucets, valves or other connections, could lead to a problem," he said.
"People should keep that in mind."
To reduce lead in drinking water
-
Let the
tap water run for at least 30 seconds to a minute before drinking it. The
more time water has been sitting in your home's pipes, the more lead it
may contain. Anytime the water in a faucet has not been used for six hours
or longer, flush the pipes by running the water until it becomes as cold
as it will get.
-
Don't use
hot water from the tap for cooking, drinking or making baby formula. Use
only cold water.
Source:
Environmental Protection Agency |
