Presque Isle water is safe
The first and most important thing I want our customers to understand is that public water in Presque Isle is safe. No comparison should be made between the situation in Flint, Michigan and Presque Isle, Maine.
It is well known that exposure to lead can be harmful to humans. Preventing exposure through your drinking water is high priority for any public water system. Please be assured, testing has shown for many years that there is no detectable lead in the drinking water in Presque Isle when it leaves our treatment plant. But lead may show up in tests taken from some private homes. So how does lead show up there when it isn’t in the water in the first place?
Answer: Water slowly erodes most metal pipes if it isn’t treated properly. After decades of testing, scientists know that the place where most lead contamination occurs is in the plumbing system of individual homes. People often don’t believe that their own home plumbing could expose their family to lead, but buildings with pipes installed before the 1990’s are likely to have lead solder joints in the plumbing or have faucet fixtures containing a percentage of lead. Lead solder was not sold after 1987, and lead free fixtures and fittings have been mandatory only since January of 2014.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Administration set guidelines and began regulating lead levels in drinking water way back in 1991. The rule required water testing in homes to be sure lead levels didn’t exceed amounts thought to be harmful, and if high lead levels were found, described actions the water system must take. It replaced the contaminant level standard of 50 parts per billion (ppb) with a much lower standard of 15 ppb. That level (15 ppb) is called the “action level”. If testing shows lead levels above 15 ppb, the public water system must notify the public, explain what happened, and reveal treatment plans to correct the problem and an estimate of when lead levels will be reduced. Instructions are also given to help reduce exposure to lead from consumption of water.
However, water can generally be made safe for pipes by using one or more of many approved treatments. They create a microscopic protective coating inside pipes and prevent leaching of metals. It is really quite effective when applied and monitored carefully.
Presque Isle Utilities District pumps water from wells which needs to be treated to prevent lead being leached from pipes. It is treated 24 hours a day with a material called “orthophosphate”. It is one of the common methods of lowering lead levels in tap water.
During 2015 the District was required to obtain a lead test sample from about 1% of the homes we serve. The level of lead found averages 1.9 ppb. Remember the action level is 15 ppb, so in Presque Isle we are only about 10% of the way toward the mandated action level. The District used to sample about 4% of the homes it served, but in recent years our treatment has been so effective that a reduced testing schedule has been judged sufficient by the Maine Drinking Water Program.
To explain the testing further, we are required to sample under the worst case scenario. We pre-select homes, using State and Federal guidelines, which are most likely to contain plumbing and fixtures which contain lead. Then we give instructions, verbal and written, to a responsible occupant about how to sample properly. It is required that a sample (1 liter) be taken from water which has been sitting still in the plumbing for at least 6 hours. Usually overnight. That way, if lead is present, it leaches over that amount of time and can be detected in the sample.
From a water system operator’s standpoint, this is the only water quality sample which we have no control over because we don’t take it ourselves. Plus it is collected using worst case conditions. All designed to readily detect any threat to public health. We are also required to reveal test results from those individual homes to the occupants soon after the testing is complete. Many thanks to you lucky customers who helped us this past year with our required testing.
I suspect this current concern about lead in drinking water may cause people to want to test the water in their own home. My advice would be to consult your physician. He or she is able to determine if your family is at risk from any lead exposure. Be aware that there are other possible sources of lead in the home environment, and your healthcare provider can best assess your situation, considering all factors.
If you wish to test, there are many ways to obtain a water testing kit. A search of water testing labs in Maine will reveal several choices, including the State of Maine Health and Environmental Testing lab in Augusta. The contact information will be there and you can check prices and decide. A specific lead test for water should be under $50. Of course, the Utilities District is here if you have any questions, but we can’t supply the test kits.
Recently, high lead levels in Flint Michigan’s public water have caused an urgent health concern. The situation seems to be evolving almost daily with improper or irrelevant information often being spread by many different sources. The public has a right to know what the real story is, and I fault public officials if they fail to notify citizens of danger, no matter what it may be. It is certain that public trust has been lost by the actions of a few, and it seems the whole calamity may have been preventable. Only time will tell. But be assured, there is no comparison between the public health emergency in Flint Michigan and the properly treated and monitored public water system in Presque Isle.
The District is always concerned about water quality and your safety. We treat 1 million gallons every day to the highest drinking water standards for our customers. If a safety concern should ever arise, we promise a quick response with all the facts which will enable you to make informed decisions.
Please feel free to call the District office to discuss this or any other utility issue.
Frank Kearney Sr. is the Superintendent of the Presque isle Utilities District. He is licensed by the Maine Department of Human Services as a class 4 water treatment and distribution system operator and by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection as a class 5 wastewater treatment plant operator.
