Lewes water safe, Public Works says; city examining pipes for lead

Meredith Newman , Maddy Lauria | The News Journal

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Tests have shown that drinking water in some older Lewes homes has elevated levels of lead, state health officials said Thursday.

The Division of Public Health was notified late last week by the Lewes Board of Public Works that drinking water samples collected in three of 10 homes tested in August exceeded the EPA Action Level for lead, officials said.

Lewes BPW General Manager Darrin Gordon said Thursday after the state alert was issued that the city’s drinking water source is safe. Lewes draws its water from five wells, which are regularly tested for lead and other contaminants.

He believes the water with lead in it is coming from old pipes or pipe components near or in the houses.

He also said that all of the city's water mains are made of either iron or plastic. So it would be the service line connections to the mains, or plumbing in old houses that could potentially have problems.

"We know we do have those lead service lines," he said. "We're working to remove them and get them out of our system."

Two years ago, the city replaced lead service lines along Savannah Road, Gordon said.

It's not clear how many of the old homes in Lewes, some of which date back to the 1600s, have lead pipes. Homes built before 1988, when the federal Lead and Copper Rule became law, are more likely to have lead pipes and plumbing, he said.

Every three years, municipalities are required to check water sources at homes. Gordon said that Public Works specifically targeted an area with older homes that may have had lead service pipes or plumbing that can leach lead into water.

“We don’t have lead in our wells,” he said. “Our good water is going to all of our customers.”

The public works serves 3,000 homes.

Exposure to high levels of lead in tap water can result in serious health issues, affecting a person's kidneys, nervous system and other body systems. Babies and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable, officials said.

Lead exposure can also impact the intellectual and physical development of children, officials said. A blood test can determine a child's blood lead level.

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Officials said they are collecting additional samples to better understand the scope and cause of the issue.

Some samples found lead concentrations more than twice the EPA’s action level of 15 micrograms per liter, comparable to about 15 drops of water in a swimming pool. There is no safe level for lead in drinking water.

While the Lewes Board of Public Works is working to identify the impacted areas, residents were paying attention to the alert.

"That's concerning," said Tim Crowley, manager at The Buttery Restaurant in Lewes. After talking to the owner, he said the restaurant filters their water and will follow any instructions issued by the city.

Officials said identifying the source of lead in the water can be difficult since a house's age and construction materials can make it hard to single out affected structures.

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Gordon said resampling will continue every six months, and that the BPW is rushing to test local schools before classes begin next week. He said they will also test local nursing homes and day care facilities just to be safe.

“We’re not required to do that, but we just want to be careful,” he said.

State health officials advise that residents run water for 30 seconds before using it in order to flush lead from the plumbing; use cold water when cooking or preparing baby formula; or consider bottled water as an alternative.

Boiling water will not remove lead, officials said. The water is safe for people to use to bathe and shower.

Residents who are concerned about their water should have it tested. To find a test kit, call the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791 or go to www.epa.gov/safewater/labs.

The contamination found in Lewes comes on the heels of a discovery of elevated levels of lead and copper in the drinking water at more than a dozen Detroit public schools. The discovery led officials to shut off the water supply to the city school district, which serves nearly 50,000 students, as reported by USA Today.

Less than 100 miles away in Flint, Michigan, people are still dealing with tainted water years after a change in water service led to serious drinking water contamination in that town. More than a dozen current and former state and local officials have been charged with crimes related to resulting health problems from lead or bacteria.

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Contact Meredith Newman at (302) 324-2386 or mnewman@delawareonline.com and on Twitter @MereNewman. Contact reporter Maddy Lauria at (302) 345-0608, mlauria@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @MaddyinMilford.