LONACONING — Lead found in drinking water more likely came from domestic pipes than a public source, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment.
During a random test last month, elevated lead levels were found in six of 21 water samples taken from Lonaconing homes.
MDE requires all public water systems to collect and analyze water samples for lead and copper in accordance with a monitoring schedule.
The recent Loncaoning water system test showed lead amounts above the action level set by the Environmental Protection Agency.
“It appears that lead could be entering the water through a localized source, such as household plumbing or the water service line, rather than system wide,” MDE Office of Communications Deputy Director Jay Apperson said via email.
MDE “continues to work closely with Lonaconing as the town improves its public water system,” he said.
Water testing was voluntary, Lonaconing Mayor Jack Coburn said.
“They were randomly spread out as much as possible,” he said. “Everyone cooperated very, very comfortably.”
Other water problems
MDE on Jan. 17 ordered a boil water advisory for customers of the Midland-Lonaconing Water System due to high turbidity levels in its water.
The Maryland Environmental Service took control of the water system on an emergency basis beginning Jan. 25.
Remedial actions included connection to an Allegany County distribution system for Lonaconing Water Company customers to receive water from Frostburg.
Coburn said the town’s water supply is expected to return to its own system about January.
Meanwhile, a potential lawsuit against the former company responsible for maintenance of the Lonaconing area’s water system, Miller Environmental, Inc., based in Reading, Pennsylvania, is ongoing, he said.
In February, Coburn alleged Miller Environmental provided “fictitious numbers” and “untrue statements.”
‘Every three years’
“The town increased the quantity and scheduling frequency of sampling for lead at MDE’s direction after it began to purchase water from Frostburg in January,” Apperson said.
“Prior to that, the town was required to test for lead a minimum of once every three years at 10 locations,” he said. “The most recent sampling under the previous schedule was in 2021.”
MDE will coordinate with the Lonaconing water system and provide any technical assistance needed to develop and implement appropriate corrective actions, “such as the addition of anti-corrosion treatment,” Apperson said.
“The town is also required to implement a public education plan about the health effects and what customers can do to limit their exposure to lead,” he said.
“Changes in water sources can result in changes to water chemistry and affect how the water interacts with water distribution systems and plumbing,” Apperson said.
‘Clear and safe’
Coburn said he wants residents to understand the town’s public water supply, which continues to come from Frostburg, is lead-free.
“The water is absolutely 100% clear and safe,” he said. “It’s after the meter is where the issues could be.”
Homeowners are responsible for water service lines, Coburn said.
Through the 1950’s, lead pipes leading to houses via service lines were common, the National Caucus of Environmental Legislator reported.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “beginning in the 1970s, lead concentrations in air, tap water, food, dust, and soil began to be substantially reduced, resulting in significantly reduced blood lead levels in children throughout the United States.”
Despite being outlawed in 1986, many old lead pipes remain.
According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, a service line can be made of lead, copper, galvanized steel, or plastic.
“Locate where the service line comes into your house near the main shutoff valve,” the organization’s website states. “Gently scratch the surface of the pipe with a coin. If the pipe is soft and easily scraped, silver in color, and if a magnet doesn’t stick, it is lead.”
Health and communication
Last month MDE announced $80 in funding to local water systems.
The initiative aimed to replace service lines that contain lead and thus improve drinking water.
Lonaconing and Westernport each got $388,800 from the funding plan, which requires water systems to compile inventories and maps of water lines that contain lead before they can use the money to replace dangerous pipes.
“Lead is still a threat in our most vulnerable and disadvantaged communities,” MDE Secretary Serena McIlwain said via press release at the time. “This funding will contribute to healthier outcomes.”
After lead was found in some Lonaconing water samples, a letter was sent to area residents that included “important information about lead in your drinking water.”
Coburn said some folks who received the letter found that statement to mean all of the town’s water contained lead.
“We did not write that letter,” he said and added MDE authored the correspondence. “They sent us that and we had to put it on our letterhead.”
www.times-news.com
https://www.times-news.com/news/local_news/mde-lead-found-in-six-lonaconing-water-samples-could-be-from-household-plumbing/article_def08f4c-736e-11ee-99a5-534e2f53795f.html
