Q & A Regarding Lead in Drinking Water
Question and Answer document on lead in drinking water
Who sets the rules for lead in drinking water in Pennsylvania and what are they?
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Lead and Copper Rule establishes an action level of 15 parts per billion (ppb) for lead based on the 90th percentile level for a certain number of tap water samples taken from houses within the system. Exceeding the action level does not constitute a violation but may trigger additional requirements such as monitoring and public education. As set out below, the testing in 2007, 2010 and 2013 was under the action level at the 90th percentile. A part per billion is equivalent to one drop of water in an Olympic sized swimming pool or a single blade of grass on a football field.
How long has the Borough been testing for lead?
Required sampling has been done by Lititz Borough since 1992. It should be noted that the Lititz Borough supply falls within the acceptable USEPA and PA DEP standards for lead in drinking water. The Borough continues to closely monitor the water quality to make certain that residents are provided the safe and clean drinking water.
What are customers told about the results?
Community water systems are required by law to notify customers whose water was tested for lead within 30 days of the results. The DEP mandates the form of that notice. The notices sent to customers contain the test results on their home, information on sources of lead, explanation of the health risks and precautions to reduce exposure.
How is the duration between testing determined?
The PA DEP sets the time between testing based on the size of the system (number of people served) and the history of the system. See the DEP’s “Lead and Copper Rule: A Quick Reference Guide”. http://www.elibrary.dep.state.pa.us/dsweb/View/Collection-10927
In addition, the DEP requires a certification that the notices were sent to customers. The Borough’s contract operator complied with the requirements on its behalf.
Why did the Borough receive a notice of violation from PA DEP?
The Borough’s contracted water treatment plant operator made reporting mistakes which appeared in the annual Consumer Confidence Reports in 2011 and 2012 and made mistakes in updating the Borough’s lead and copper sample siting plan. This resulted in the PA DEP issuing a notice of violation to the Borough.
What is the Borough doing to correct the CCR mistakes?
Working with the contractor, the Borough addressed the notice of violations by including a customer notification of reporting violations related to lead monitoring in the next Consumer Confidence Report. The Borough will also take the extra step of including information on how the error was identified and present the corrected information within the next report. Additionally, the Borough has referenced prior Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) evaluations and Public Works records to identify possible LCR monitoring locations in the distribution system. A summary of this evaluation, along with an updated copy of the Borough’s 2016 LCR monitoring plan, will be submitted to PADEP.
What did the lead testing results in 2007, 2010 and 2013 show?
The lead testing data for Lititz Borough from PA drinking water database shows that in the 2007, 2010 and 2013 testing years, the overwhelming majority of tests resulted in either a zero level or a level below the action level set by PA DEP. Two tests showed levels of lead above the action level in 2010.
Year
| Houses tested | Number of houses with zero lead level
| Range of positive lead results (in ppb) | Reported levels (in ppb) |
2007 | 20 | 13 | 2.4 – 9.8 | 2.4; 2.6; 2.8; 2.9; 3.6; 6.3; 9.8 |
2010 | 20 | 13 | 5 - 428 | 428; 5; 6; 5; 22; 5; 7 |
2013 | 20 | 17 | 3 – 5 | 3; 4; 5 |
What is required in years in which no testing is performed as per DEP regulations?
The levels for the last test performed should appear in the annual Consumer Confidence Report, if such tests occurred within the last five years.
Why were the levels in the 2011 and 2012 CCR not the same as in the 2010 CCR given that no testing took place in those years?
After conducting an internal examination, the Borough’s contract operator believes a reporting mistake occurred where data was inadvertently transposed from the 2007 testing in the 2011 and 2012 CCRs instead of the 2010 testing results. The contractor discovered the error during a self-review. The contractor immediately reported the mistake to PA DEP. Homes tested in 2010 would have received the PA DEP’s required consumer notice following the 2010 tests.
How can lead levels differ between houses?
PA DEP cites EPA estimates that 10 to 20 percent of human exposure to lead comes from lead in drinking water. However, the DEP states that lead is rarely found in drinking water and usually is a result of corroded plumbing materials. The DEP customer letter states that houses built before 1986 are more likely to have lead pipes, plumbing fixtures or solder. However, the letter notes that even plumbing which is legally “lead free” may contain up to 8 percent lead.
What is the Borough doing about lead?
The Borough has addressed lead and copper in its drinking water system since 1994, when it started a corrosion control program. The corrosion control program starts with adding a chemical to water leaving the treatment plant forming a very thin film formation on the metal surfaces inside of pipes throughout the drinking water distribution system. The film inhibits corrosion. A vendor hired by the Borough monitors the effectiveness of the system by placing “coupons” (small pieces of metal made up of Copper, Mild Steel, Lead Solder and Lead) in a manifold connected to a tap in the distribution system. After the coupons are exposed to the drinking water for a period of time, they are sent to a laboratory to be analyzed. A corrosion rate is then calculated based on the laboratory results and our vendor recommends any needed chemical feed rate adjustments based on these calculations.
What affects lead levels in drinking water?
The severity of lead contamination depends on the amount of lead in the distribution system and home plumbing, and on the corrosiveness of the water. PA DEP states that houses built before 1986 are more likely to have lead pipes, plumbing fixtures or solder. The Borough has identified approximately 300 connections that are believed to contain lead goosenecks on their service lines. The Borough’s contractor is currently sending letters to a pool of these customers inviting them to participate in future monitoring. The next monitoring period is from June through September of 2016. The Borough will post the results on its website. Only drinking water customers with connections that meet certain criteria can be included in the monitoring plan. Customers may also consider contacting a service provider to test the water at their tap. Water softeners or other point of use/point of entry water conditioners may have an effect on corrosion. Hard water tends to leave deposits on the inside of pipes which reduces the likelihood of lead leaching from the pipes.
What other guidance is available?
The US Environmental Protection Agency advises that any time the water in a particular faucet has not been used for six hours or longer, it should be "flushed" by running the water until it becomes as cold as it will get. This could take as little as five to thirty seconds if there has been recent heavy water use such as showering or toilet flushing. Otherwise, it could take two minutes or longer. Additional information may be found at the USEPA’s website: https://www.epa.gov/lead.