BY ERIKA NORTON
WEST MILFORD - With the recent exposure of elevated lead levels in the Flint, Michigan public water systems, many are wondering how much lead is in their water.
“In relation to everything that’s going on in Flint, there’s a new awareness,” said Kelly Love, administrator for the West Milford Municipal Utilities Authority. “People should just be aware to get their water tested, but we (the West Milford Township MUA systems) are in the clear.”
The Environmental Protection Agency requires that all community water systems prepare and deliver an annual water quality report called a Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) for their customers by July 1 of each year. The goal of these reports is to provide educational material, allowing consumers to make educated decisions regarding any potential health risks pertaining to the quality, treatment and management of their drinking water supply.
Information found on these reports includes testing for microbiological contaminants like E. coli, radioactive contaminants, synthetic organic contaminants including pesticides and herbicides, volatile organic contaminants found in discharge from chemical factories, and inorganic contaminants like copper, mercury and lead. Additionally, in the state of New Jersey, these results are required to be posted on the Drinking WaterWatch page of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection website.
The lowest levels were found by the United Water West Milford System, The West Milford Township MUA Greenbrook Estates system, The West Milford Township MUA Parkway system and the Woodland Heights Homeowners Association with 0 ug/L.
As explained within the Consumer Confidence Reports, the two main ways lead gets into water is by the corrosion of household plumbing systems and the erosion of natural deposits. Overall, West Milford hasn’t had a problem with elevated lead levels, according to Love, but where they do see elevated levels periodically are in older homes where lead pipes or copper pipes were used.
“Usually when we test, we test for both lead and copper,” Love said. “Sometimes we can get a copper hit, which is not in the system but in an individual’s home, In which case it usually has to do with if they have old copper piping in their house. But lead, we never really have a problem with.”
According to the EPA, homes built before 1986 have a higher likelihood of having lead pipes, fixtures and solder. Love said the West Milford MUA had an issue about six or seven years ago with older pipes in older homes, where there was a lot of copper being found, but not lead.
She also said the MUA randomly sends out notices encouraging homeowners to check their pipes if their house was built before 1984. The MUA went through all of the houses in their system and found out when they were built, so they could have the ability to test those older homes according to DEP standards - the older the home, the more the DEP requires it be tested.
“We really haven’t had an issue in quite some time,” Love said. “But there are older homes in town that people should be aware if they have old lead pipes, or they have copper, it could affect them. They definitely should have water tested, even if they’re on a well, they should have their water tested for lead.”
As far as private well testing, it’s really up to the homeowner. The only time private well testing is required by law is when a home is being purchased, under the New Jersey Private Well Testing Act.
According to Seabold, once someone is in the home, they’re not required to test their drinking water on an annual basis for any parameter. However, even though it is not required, he does recommend certain times when a homeowner should test their private well water.
“Certainly if you’re having work done on your well or on the plumbing in your house, because for no other reason, you’ve opened up the system and the potential exists for contamination at that point - bacterial contamination as well as lead and those values,” Seabold said. “In general, it’s probably not a bad idea to test your house on an annual basis if you have a private well.”
These annual tests should at least test for the basics, according to Seabold. This includes lead, pH, bacteria and nitrates.
“It would give you a general idea of how good your water is and then certainly if you have a problem, then you can look further,” he said.
A representative from Aqua Pro-Tech Labs in Fairfield told The Messenger that the state-mandated testing necessary when selling a house costs $395. However, homeowners who want to test certain things in their water, including lead, can do lesser testing starting at $100.
The EPA also says that lead can accumulate in our bodies over time, where it is stored in bones along with calcium. During pregnancy, lead is released from bones as maternal calcium and is used to help form the bones of the fetus, especially in women with not enough calcium in their diet.
Lead can also cross the placental barrier exposing the fetus the lead, according to the EPA. This can result in serious effects to the mother and her developing fetus, including reduced growth of the fetus and premature birth.
The EPA adds that adults who drink this water over many years could develop kidney problems or high blood pressure.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with individual state’s departments of health, collect childhood blood lead surveillance data for children under three years of age. In addition, under New Jersey law, at 12 months and 24 months of age, children are to be screened for lead poisoning, which health insurance companies are required to cover.
If a child is tested and is found to have equal to or more than 10 ug/dL of lead in their blood, they are considered to have an elevated blood lead level. According to the CDC, only 0.5 percent of the children tested had an elevated blood lead level in Passaic County in 2014, and the entire state had a relatively low blood lead level, except for Cumberland and Salem Counties.
According to Seabold, the average person can get a kit for which to test for lead paint at places like Home Depot and Lowes. And if an individual’s home is older, someone can come and check for lead.
“Keep your children away from home improvement projects, especially where you’re going to be sanding or scraping paint, or power washing the outside of your home because many times that brings down paint chips onto the soil and then kids play in that area and they pick them up and ingest them,” he said.
The New Jersey Department of Health also has a list of recommendations, including run water for 15 to 30 seconds before drinking it, especially if you have not used your water for a few hours, and to use only cold tap water to prepare formula, for drinking and cooking. This is because water that comes out of the tap warm or hot can contain much higher levels of lead, and boiling water will not reduce the amount of lead.
For more information on lead in drinking water, contact the NJDEP Bureau of Safe Drinking Water at 609-292-5550 or the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.
And go to our website, westmilfordmessenger.com and tell us what you think.