Some Massachusetts residents received drinking water notices in recent weeks alerting them that the water pipes servicing their homes may contain lead.
Local officials say they’re not looking to cause panic: nothing has changed in the water supply. They’re sending out these letters after an initial inventory to see who may have lead pipes in their system. In Gloucester, for instance, thousands of households received a letter — even though there are only 12 confirmed lead lines in their system of more than 13,000. Several hundred more are galvanized pipes, which could be lined with lead.
These letters are a requirement under a new federal rule that sets a stricter standard for lead and aims to finally root out the harmful contaminant in the coming years.
“We want to be as transparent as possible. We don’t want people to be frightened. But we do know that this is of concern,” Medford Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn told GBH News. “And even though a home is serviced by a lead line, it does not mean there’s lead in the water.”
For any of the tens of thousands of households that got a letter, they don’t need to take any action, but the first step would be testing their water or pipes. The EPA offers guidance on how to check pipes or water.
Lungo-Koehn said if any resident has concerns, they can always get their water tested. Her city of Medford, for instance, sent about 10,000 letters to residents whose service pipes might have lead in them. In half of those cases, it’s unknown if the household has lead pipes because of missing or incomplete records due to a fire that burned records in the 2000s. There are similar unknown water line services in other towns, as well.
Under the federal rules — the EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule — water systems are required to document all water service lines materials and identify any lead or lead materials. Then local governments have to inform residents who do or may have lead pipes in their water supply.
Some of those pipes are on private property and could pose a cost burden to the homeowner in the next several years, a fact that some cities and towns say they’re exploring how to mitigate with grant funding. Medford is offering a $1,000 rebate to homeowners.
According to the EPA and local officials, it is common for some communities to have a number of “unknown” types of water service lines, meaning it’s unclear if a home or household has lead pipes.
“That’s why we have this new regulation that went into effect: because we want water systems to make these identifications and start a path forward to understanding whether there is lead or not,” said Denise Springborg, the EPA’s Chief of Drinking Water Quality and Protection in the Northeast.
In Gloucester, for instance, 61% of the system is confirmed non-lead service lines. Another 34% are unknown.
“Historically, it’s a little tricky. And, you know, this has been a records review exercise for the most part,” said Dana Martin, Gloucester’s city engineer. “And in Massachusetts, most water suppliers share ownership of that water service line.”
But the whole point of the national regulation is educating customers about the potential for lead and health hazards and eliminating them.
“It’s also important to remember the reason that all this is happening is that lead poisoning in children is a really dangerous thing,” said Ken Moraff, director of the water division at the EPA’s New England Office.
“And so, making sure that we’re getting lead out of drinking water is a really important priority,” Moraff said.
While some cities like Medford are now considering requiring homeowners to disclose if their water supply contains lead lines, others like Gloucester are not.
Martin in Gloucester said she wants customers to feel comfortable about the process, and she is urging customers not to panic as they gather information about the water service lines.
“The quality of their water has not changed. There’s been no change in the process or how it’s getting delivered to their homes,” she said. “We’re just sharing this data with our customers as soon as we have it.”
