KALAMAZOO, MI — A state violation for improper corrosion control technique in Kalamazoo’s water treatment process means there was potential for exposure to higher lead levels, though city officials do not believe that happened, Public Works Director James Baker said.

The city does not have any evidence for or against the possibility of lead leaching into the water supply, Baker said before a news conference on Thursday, May 9.

“We can look at other data in the system as a whole and tell you that, in our opinion, we don’t think that’s happening but still at the end of the day, we had a violation for corrosion control. Corrosion control is tied to lead and copper so we needed to inform the public there are potential risks associated with exposure to lead,” Baker said.

The city has sent letters to the more than 42,000 customers on the municipal water system, including people in Oshtemo Township, Pavillion Township and places in between, he said. The letters will explain details of the violation, Baker said.

City of Kalamazoo explains state water violation. Posted by Kalamazoo Gazette on Thursday, May 9, 2019

The city said the violation is not indicative of any immediate health or safety concerns.

No action or precautionary measures are necessary by water customers, the city said in the written statement.

The violation relates to the adjustments made to phosphate/orthophosphate ranges as a result of adding Parchment to the Kalamazoo water system, Scott Dean of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) said. Phosphate/orthophosphate is added to the water for corrosion control, officials said.

The system maintained corrosion control, but deviated from the ranges on a some occasions in 2018 and 2019, Dean said.

From Jan. 1, 2018 to June 30, 2018, the city had 26 excursion days at points of entries where phosphate is added. From July 1 to Dec. 31, 2018, the city had 13 excursion days at points of entry, and 20 excursion days in the Parchment distribution system.

Nine “excursion days” with levels of corrosive controls outside of the new ranges have occurred this year, Dean said. If no additional excursion days occur between now and June 30, Kalamazoo will return to compliance with the treatment technique violation, and EGLE will rescind the violation for the monitoring period January 1 – June 30, 2019, Dean said.

The city provides filters certified to remove lead, Baker said, and he advised anyone on a lead service line to use them.

The city is currently performing scheduled lead testing, Baker said, thought the results are not available at this time.

Visit the city of Kalamazoo’s website about the violation to see the letter sent to customers, and a questions and answers document.

A copy of the letter sent to the city of Kalamazoo is below: