Service is free for University Park residents concerned about lead exposure
The water provider, which detected elevated lead levels at 15 village properties on June 13 and issued a “do not consume” order for about 2,400 customers the following day, also will provide free lead testing of drinking water and for homes, Aqua officials announced Saturday.
Aqua officials have said the lead problem appears to stem from the company’s use of polyphosphate to remove iron or rust from the water, which has had the unintended consequence of removing the pipes’ protective coating and leeching lead into the water.
Homes and businesses built before 1986, when the EPA forbade the use of lead solder, are more likely to have reduced levels of protective coating and are at increased risk of lead contamination, the company has said.
Aqua said it had since switched to a new treatment product that is “known to be effective at forming a protective scale with lead” and preventing lead from dissolving in the water, but that process will not be immediate.
As of Monday, the company’s “do not consume” advisory remained in effect for some 1,500 village households, University Park village manager John Pate said.
Aqua hasn’t cleared any additional homes for water consumption in nearly a week, and Pate said that is unlikely to change in the short term.
Company officials did not respond to requests for comment Monday, but acknowledged in a statement over the weekend that their efforts to rectify the issue were going to take time.
“It is a slow process to get the coating restored in the home — it could take weeks,” Aqua officials said in a statement that advised customers to flush water through their entire homes to ensure the new treatment can start coating the pipes.
Aqua will continue to operate an information center for University Park residents at 90 Town Center Drive from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday. The center will be closed Sunday but reopen for a final day Monday, company officials said in a statement.
Customers may pick up jugs of drinking water or fill their own water containers with safe drinking water at the center. They also can pick up filter pitchers, filters, water sample kits and speak with Aqua staff, company officials said.
Pate said Aqua will be waiving the June bill for all village customers.
On Saturday, the village board voted unanimously to indefinitely extend the state of emergency that Mayor Joseph Roudez had declared June 15, which will allow University Park to seek outside public funds for help with the water problem, if need be.
Both state and federal Environmental Protection Agency officials also are keeping an eye on the situation and had representatives at Saturday’s meeting, Pate said.
The board authorized the village manager to investigate all legal options available to University Park, but Pate said it was too soon to say whether the village would take any legal action against Aqua.
The village is in the process of conducting a water drive to collect bottled water for distribution to residents.
“Aqua is no longer distributing bottled water, but the village is trying to get as much water in here as possible to make it as convenient as possible for residents,” Pate said.
He said the village would begin distributing water Tuesday at Village Hall, 698 Burnham Drive, on a first-come, first-serve basis, as long as supplies last. Residents who provide identification showing they live within the “do not consume” zone are entitled to two cases of water per day, Pate said.
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