Water Testing Nationwide a Problem
In researching this Flint water issue I came across an article in Mlive.com which is reporting that water testing for lead and copper in municipal drinking water is a nationwide problem, not only a problem in Flint.
Researchers at Virginia Tech University believe the 1991 EPA rule that regulates how water utilities test for lead needs to be updated because in their current state they do not produce “adequate” data protections to their users.
I also found out that the city of Flint used “deceptive” practices in the water tests they submitted to the state. The city of Flint filed certified documents which stated that the city only tested water from houses they knew would have the highest risk of lead poisoning. What they actually tested, and sent to the state, where houses with less of a chance for lead-tainted water.
Now why has this not been a headline in every paper and the lead story of every news cast?
Interesting, is it not?
Why do you think what appears to be a very important fact is not being reported extensively?
Are they attempting to squash this information?
According to the article the typical testing protocol is as follows:
A customer in a home with high lead risk fills a provided bottle using instructions from the utility after water has been inactive, or stagnant, for at least six hours. They record which faucet was used on a form and the utility collects the bottle, usually giving the customer a small credit on their bill. Most utilities ask for a "first draw," or a liter of the very first liquid to exit the tap after the designated waiting period.
Then I discover in this article that the federal regulations issued by the EPA, goal was to have no more than 10% of the population drinking water with lead levels above the “action level”, if it goes beyond the 10% corrective actions is required.
Wait are you telling me that 10% of a population can be poisoned with lead before the EPA demands you take corrective action!
Something does not sound right here, am I misunderstanding something or are there other actions that must take place when any testing reveals elevated lead levels. I can tell you that the article does not help me understand if any other action is required below the 10% level, because it makes no mention of any remediation or asks the question like I am.
Apparently a Dutch firm named ARCADIS in 2015 determined that if U.S. utilities sampled in a way that zero in on water in lead service lines, 50 to 70% of them “would exceed the federal action level and up to 90 million people would suddenly receive notices that their water may be unsafe to drink.”
We find out a little more each day.
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