This is a printer friendly version of an article from www.thedailytimes.com
To print this article open the file menu and choose Print.
Article published Feb 20, 2008 Utility warns customers about lead once more
By Rick Laney of The Daily Times Staff
As it has done repeatedly in recent months, the South Blount County Utility District is again warning its customers about possible lead content in their water.
This week, South Blount Utility District customers started getting the lead notices enclosed with their monthly water bill.
"It seems like we have to do this about every three months," said Henry Durant, district manager for SBCUD. "It's a corrosion problem.
"We're out of compliance, and we're desperately trying to find a solution.
"Just last week we traveled to Virginia Tech to meet with Dr. Mark Edwards -- he's known as the guru of lead corrosion.
"He and his team are going to analyze our water and come back to us with a recommendation within about six weeks."
Durant said that of the 60 homes randomly tested by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 20 homes had lead levels that exceeded the acceptable standard of 15 parts per billion (ppb). Homes in Blount County that were deemed unacceptable showed lead levels of up to 70 ppb with an average of 50 ppb.
"The real key to all of this is simply running your water for 30 seconds before you use it," Durant said. "The problem comes from water sitting in the pipes inside people's homes. It sits there all night and that is when the corrosion occurs.
"If people will run their water for 30 seconds, it brings the lead levels back down."
Most of the homes that tested too high for lead content were built before 1986. Many homes were built with copper plumbing and pipes -- using lead solder -- before the federal government banned them in 1986.
Last August, South Blount Utility District had to send a similar notice to customers when 14 out of 60 homes randomly tested showed unacceptable levels of lead. In 2006, a random sampling identified 21 homes with higher than allowed lead levels. The EPA says that a utility must take action if more than 10 percent of the homes randomly tested have elevated lead levels.
South Blount Utility District -- which does not have any lead service lines -- will continue sampling 60 homes every quarter until it comes back into compliance with the 15 ppb maximum. The utility is also required to notify its customers of the test findings.
The utility offers the following safety tips for those customers with elevated lead levels:
Customers are cautioned against cooking with or drinking water from a hot-water tap because lead dissolves more easily into hot water.
Do not boil water to remove lead. Excessive boiling actually makes lead more concentrated, and lead remains even when water evaporates.