Lead in Village tap water cause for concern, but not panic

Jessica Clark at the Village Office displays the water filtration systems that are being offered by the county for free to underserved members of the Manchester community.

Last week, an alarming-sounding notice was sent out by the Village of Manchester in response to action levels of lead found during recent water testing in the village. While the message was scary, the Village has been responding to worried residents, and reassuring to many.

"The village received this notification last Friday, and we had three days to get it out to the community," explained Jeff Wallace, Village Manager. "That meant we had to post a notice by Wednesday at latest." But, they also had to wait for State approval of the notice wording, which didn't happen until Tuesday afternoon.

Due to the timing of the Mirror's publication schedule, and a subsequently busy week for the village office, it was not possible to get in a fuller explanation of the situation until now.

First of all, water quality provided by the village water system has historically been, and remains, very good! There is no lead in the water supply itself.

Most homes built prior to 1978 have at one time had lead, galvanized, or copper lines leading from the water mains to the meter. Residents have always been able to get lead testing done, and many homeowners have subsequently had these lines replaced over the years. Of the 801 homes the Village provides water to, 108 of them still had lead or galvanized service lines in early 2020. It is water in some of these homes that was found to have elevated levels of lead.

The action level for lead is currently at 15 ppb (although there is no recognized "safe" level). The state recently asked communities to get water samples in a certain percentage of homes known to still have lead pipes. In Manchester, the number of homes tested was 19. Many of the samples were well below action level; seven samples were found to have higher levels of lead in the water that was tested.

The annual water quality report sent out to every village residence has the following information about lead in the water: "Lead in drinking water is primarily from materials and components associated with service lines and home plumbing. The Village of Manchester is responsible for providing high quality drinking water, but cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing components." That being said, the Village is replacing the lead service lines with safe materials.

According to Manchester Village Manager Jeff Wallace, "The good news is we have already been working on this for a long time and eventually, all lead and galvanized service pipes will be gone."

Since 2020, the village has been working on upgrading the 108 known service lines leading from the water mains to the affected homes, and at this time is well ahead of schedule. State and federal regulations have mandated that a minimum of 5% of lead service lines need to be replaced per year; currently the village has replaced 8 this year, and will be replacing another one within the next couple of weeks, which is approximately 10% of lines needing replacement.

"We have spent $70-80,000 in the past year and a half, and are looking for grants and programs to be able to do (the replacements) faster," Wallace said. "We are now at 89 homes with known lead or galvanized service lines, and will soon be at 88. We know this is a problem, and we are treating it seriously. It's the right thing to do; we are trying to be proactive and progressive in providing water service to our residents."

Two of the seven homes with the highest levels of lead in the samples sent to the state, have already had lines replaced at this point.

Village President Pat Vailliencourt commented, "Lead in someone's water is a very serious issue. Unfortunately, some will seize this opportunity to create confusion, mistrust, division, and fear. If you have questions, call the village office, attend a Village Council meeting (7 pm first and third Mondays), or talk to one of your elected officials. Don't rely on what someone else assumes, thinks they know, has heard from someone that 'really knows,' or posts made on Facebook. Please, make sure you have the facts."

Households with lead service lines running to their homes were notified by the Village when they began the process of replacing the lines but if you have an older home and don't know whether you have a lead service line, you can call the Village at (734) 428-7877. If you do have lead service lines and want your water tested for lead, you can call the MDHHS Drinking Water Hotline at 844-934-1315.

Even if you don't have lead service lines, there may be lead present in older plumbing fixtures and soldering. Everyone can take steps to minimize potential lead exposure by running your water before using it. When your water has been sitting for several hours, you can minimize the potential for lead exposure by flushing your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using water for drinking or cooking. If you have a lead service line it is recommended that you run your water for at least 5 minutes to flush water from both your home plumbing and the lead service line. The water is safe for washing, showering, and bathing. Boiling does not reduce lead.

Additionally, you can reduce the lead in your drinking and cooking water with a lead-reducing filter. Filters cost about $35 and their replacement cartridges cost about $15. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is providing, lead-reducing water filters to Village households served by municipal water who meet specific criteria, including those with children under 18 or pregnant women in the home, who cannot afford a water filter. Filters are available at Village Hall, 912 City Rd., Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 4 pm.

While elevated lead levels are not good for anyone, typically, children under 6 and pregnant women are most vulnerable to lead poisoning. Because of this, the Washtenaw County Health Department offered free blood lead level tests for young children and pregnant women in Manchester on Friday. If the results of Friday’s testing indicate elevated blood lead levels among local children or pregnant women, the Health Department will offer additional testing opportunities. Local pediatricians can also provide lead testing for children, and the County Health Department offers free blood lead testing for children up to 6 years old with Medicaid or who are uninsured by calling 734-544-6700 to schedule an appointment.

Manchester Community Schools announced on Thursday that the schools have requested that the water being provided throughout the school buildings be tested by the Washtenaw County Health Department. The school district is doing this out of an abundance of caution. During the water testing process, they are using bottled water for drinking and cooking, and will have bottled water available throughout the day.

It is important to remember that outside of situations like Flint, water is not the most common source of lead exposure for young children. The most common source of exposure for young children is older homes or buildings with lead paint.

For more information about lead visit: https://www.washtenaw.org/1811/Lead and https://www.michigan.gov/mileadsafe.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.