There is increased scrutiny nationwide of lead levels in drinking water following the crisis in Flint, Michigan, but local officials say there’s no reason for fears of similar issues in Columbus and Starkville.
The results of the most recent water quality reports in both cities showed zero or trace amounts of lead, and officials say they’ve not seen any alarming amounts in the routine testing done monthly at residences throughout the cities either.
Federal standards say actionable levels for lead are 15 parts per billion in more than 10 percent of tap water samples. Columbus Light & Water’s 2014 report showed 0 parts per billion. Starkville Utilities’ 2014 report showed 0.0006 parts per billion.
John Cunningham, an engineer who is a consultant for CL&W, described the city’s product as “good, quality water.”
“Overall, I think they do a tremendous job,” he told The Dispatch, noting that CL&W continues to meet guidelines and criteria established by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Both Cunningham and Starkville Utilities officials stressed that local infrastructure differs vastly from that in Flint — most noticeably in that water in Flint is drawn from surface water, while in the Golden Triangle, water is pumped from the ground. Compared to groundwater, surface water tends to be more corrosive and contain more particles, contaminants, microorganisms and organic matter.
CL&W’s water is pulled from eight wells drawing from the lower Tuscaloosa Aquifer. Starkville’s is drawn from seven wells in the Gordo aquifer. Both are about 1,500 feet below the surface.
“It’s a little more costly to treat surface water, and you can get some better water quality out of deep water wells,” said Cunningham, adding this is now routine across the state.
In both Starkville and Columbus once water is drawn from the ground, it’s treated in treatment plants for iron removal and other issues of contamination. While iron is considered a secondary contaminant — and not harmful to health — it is removed for issues of stains, taste and clogging.
National conversation
The situation in Flint began in 2014 after officials switched the city’s water from the Detroit system to the Flint River in an effort to save money. They failed, however, to correctly treat the river water so that corrosive elements would not leach lead from old pipes.
Thousands of Flint children were found to have high levels of lead in their blood. Excessive levels of lead can cause learning disabilities and developmental delays, which experts fear will forever impact the children.
Closer to home, in late January, some south Jackson residents had a scare when detectable levels of lead were found in several homes. The EPA classified the findings — which showed more than eight times the federal action level — as actionable. This meant certain steps had to be taken, including resampling, increasing the sample-size and notifying the water system’s customers, according to Leslie Royals, the director of environmental health with the Mississippi Department of Health.
Most of the 13 homes in Jackson that were found to initially have been cited as actionable have been resampled and now have tested negative for lead.
The MSDH explained the incident by saying some systems may appear out of compliance at the end of compliance periods due to the nature of old infrastructure.
“There are houses still in existence today that were plumbed using lead solder and when the water is even slightly corrosive, lead can leach into the water from the plumbing,” Royals said.
State guidelines
All public water system operators in Mississippi, regardless of what type of system they use, are supposed to follow MSDH guidelines.
First, operators test drinking water from homes routinely to ensure chlorine levels are maintained and that there is no bacterial contamination in the water, according to Royals. The operator also must take other types of samples from the water system, according to the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Act, and those samples are analyzed in a laboratory.
These testing results are reported yearly by each public water system and are supposed to be distributed to customers. They can also be found online at healthyms.com.
Cunningham said Columbus deals with a variety of pipes — including plastic, galvanized steel and copper — all of which are common throughout the state. Six or seven years ago, CL&W did some improvements, or “upsizing,” of pipes, along some of CL&W’s outer locations, but Cunningham did not know of any other infrastructure updates.
Scott Thomas, the chief drinking water operator for the city of Starkville, said they too have a mixture of types of pipes. Thomas noted, too, that Starkville has been replacing pipes on a consistent basis with plastic.
“We’re now doing PVC exclusively,” he said.
Safety measures
Columbus and Starkville water entities routinely test from the faucet for lead and copper at different locations throughout the cities.
Actionable levels were set by the EPA in 1991, in what’s known as the Lead and Copper Rule.
Actionable levels for copper is 1.3 parts per million in more than 10 percent of tap water samples. Like lead, too much copper can be unhealthy. It can cause issues like vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, liver damage and kidney disease.
Because copper pipes over time can create a protective barrier to protect the metal from leaching, it’s typically newer homes, or those created between the early 1980s and 1991 that see problems, according to Thomas.
Installations or repairs using certain construction techniques — like use of solder, pipe or flux that are not “lead free” — were outlawed by Congress in 1986.
“We don’t really target old houses, mainly those built after 1981 and before (19)91, a specific time frame,” Thomas said, adding they still sample throughout the city, and not only in targeted areas where old infrastructure is known. “We corner the entire distribution.”
The issue of infrastructure is one being tackled by states throughout the U.S., not just Mississippi, according to Royals.
“Mississippi is similar to other states in that infrastructure in many older areas are in need of upgrades or replacement,” she said, adding the MSDH offers low-interest rate loans for water system improvements, and other agencies offer loans and grants to help combat the issue as well.
Thompson said Starkville has been treating its water even before the 1991 requirements, because it helps with things like the displeasing-to-look-at discoloration, or “brown water” — that can come from old iron pipes.
“We do very extensive testing, we’re proactive so we don’t have those problems,” Thomas said, adding the water is “not corrosive anyway,” with a pH-level of 8.
While local water officials are currently satisfied with the quality of drinking water, some, like Starkville Utilities, say they are not content with simply treading water, and look to continually make upgrades to infrastructure. Starkville Utilities General Manager Terry Kemp points out the water department has 38 employees: three work on the production side of things, five work on water treatment, and the rest work on capital replacements.
“We’re constantly working on repairs,” he said, adding the same is true for the agency’s sewer infrastructure.
Testing for lead
Local water operators advise residents that while they’re responsible for providing “high quality” drinking water, they cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing components. They advise that if water has been sitting for several hours, to minimize potential for lead exposure by flushing one’s tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using water for drinking or cooking. Those concerned about lead in their water may want to have it tested. Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods and steps that can be taken to minimize exposure are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline or at epa.gov/safewater/lead. The Mississippi State Department of Health Public Health Laboratory offers lead testing for $10 per sample, and can be reached at 601-576-7582.
Lead risk for children
Even low levels of lead in the blood of children can result in:
■ Behavior and learning problems
■ Lower IQ and hyperactivity
■ Slowed growth
■ Hearing problems
■ Anemia
In rare cases, ingestion of lead can cause seizures, coma and even death.
Lead risks for pregnant women
■ Lead can accumulate in our bodies over time, where it is stored in bones along with calcium. During pregnancy, lead is released from bones as maternal calcium and is used to help form the bones of the fetus. This is particularly true if a woman does not have enough dietary calcium. Lead can also cross the placental barrier exposing the fetus to lead. This can result in serious effects to the mother and her developing fetus, including:
■ Reduced growth of the fetus
■ Premature birth
Source: epa.gov
Sam Luvisi is news editor and covers education for The Dispatch.
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