OLD TAPPAN, N.J.—Town officials in at least one community served by Suez Water of North America have initiated their own low-cost lead testing program—in cooperation with a regional health commission—to help residents determine if their drinking water contains high levels of lead.
And the director of Northwest Bergen Regional Health Commission, Angela Mussella, told Northern Valley Press that should other towns covered by the regional health service be interested in a similar effort, that may be possible based on how its lead testing pilot in Old Tappan succeeds.
Since detecting high lead levels in 15 of 108 home water samples in Bergen and Hudson counties in late 2018, Suez Water has offered free lead water quality testing for Suez customers who contact the the utility and confirm its water service lines or connections, called goosenecks, are lead-based.
If the utility’s lines are not lead-based, Suez will not offer free water testing but the customer is advised to check their service line—which runs from the curb into the house—for any possible lead or inside plumbing that may contain lead.
Lead or no lead?
Debra Vial, a Suez spokeswoman, said it’s important to remember that just because a lead service line or lead-lined fixtures are present, that does not necessarily mean that lead levels in drinking water will exceed federal standards. In fact, she said, nine times out of 10, or more, lead levels are below standards and in some cases non-detectable.
A recent round of testing by Suez from January to June 2019 found 99 of 110 homes tested fell within the federal 15 parts per billion standard for lead in drinking water, while a few were slightly over limit but were “rounded down” and met the standard, according to Vial.
To address public concerns about possible lead impacts, Old Tappan’s Health Officer, Angela Mussella, who works for Northwest Bergen Regional Health Commission, said she was told by Borough of Old Tappan officials that homeowners had inquired about what water testing was available and were concerned about possible high lead levels.
Mussella said the Old Tappan effort was the commission’s first public health program focused exclusively on lead in drinking water. She urged residents concerned about lead in their drinking water to attend and ask questions and pick up a test kit.
‘This is the first time’
“This is the first time we’re doing an effort just for lead in any town and we may decide to offer it in other northwest Bergen towns if there’s a need for it,” Mussella said.
“Lead is not something new for us to be dealing with,” she added, noting commission health officers regularly address lead health concerns such as lead-based paint often used on homes built before the mid-1970s.
While Old Tappan is not among Suez Water’s priority towns for lead line removal, it does rank in its second tier of towns with “smaller pockets” of utility-owned lead service lines, said Vial, who noted work has occurred there to remove lead lines.
Old Tappan’s Borough Administrator Anna Haverilla said residents can find information on the “low-cost lead testing program” on its website.
She said the health officer will help answer questions on possible health impacts of lead in drinking water at Borough Hall on Monday, Sept. 9, 8:30 to 11 a.m., and offer the water testing kit.
$65 water testing kits
The lead testing kit is $65, payable by cash or check made out to Northwest Bergen Regional Health Commission.
Water testing results will then be available the following Monday, Sept. 16, 8:30 to 11 a.m. at Borough Hall, where residents can stop by and pick them up, said Haverilla.
Haverilla said residents with questions or concerns should call Mussella at (201) 445-7217, extension 0, or email info@nwbrhc.net.
Vial said that generally water lead testing costs the utility about $100 and that $65.00 is a reasonable cost for residents concerned with possible high lead levels.
Suez lists 8,541 lead service lines and 23,623 lead goosenecks—short pipes connecting to a main—in 57 municipalities it serves in Bergen and Hudson counties.
1,000…and counting
Vial said the utility will remove its 1,000th lead line next week and plans to replace 2,400 service lines by year’s end in an expedited program Suez announced in May following public officials’ pushback against Suez’s slow-paced lead line removals.
Previously, the utility removed about 7 percent of lines annually but plans to remove 25 percent in 2019.
As part of its required actions for exceeding 15 parts per billion in over 10 percent of customer homes last year, Suez was required by state Department of Environmental Protection to take remedial measures including evaluating corrosion control treatment in lead lines, offering customer assistance for lead testing, and public education and outreach.
Before 1986: Lead likely
Although the federal standard for lead is 15 parts per billion in drinking water, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes there is no safe level of lead in drinking water and lead water pipes are more likely to be found in homes built before 1986.
Children, infants and fetuses are particularly vulnerable to lead, says EPA, with even low levels of exposure in children linked to central and peripheral nervous system damage, learning disabilities, shorter stature, impaired hearing, and impaired formation and function of blood cells.
In adults, exposure to lead may result in cardiovascular effects such as high blood pressure, hypertension, lowered kidney function and reproductive problems.
Initially, Suez lead line replacements have been focused on Teaneck, Rutherford, Hackensack, Ridgefield Park, Bogota, North Bergen, Union City and West New York.
Other towns Suez is working in to replace “smaller pockets” of lead lines are Alpine, Old Tappan, River Vale, Little Ferry, Wallington, Lodi, and Upper Saddle River.
Vial said Suez’s unknown service lines are listed at 7,060; known customer lead service lines at 2,258; and unknown customer lines at 153,155. The utility serves 200,000 residential and business customers.
Public outreach efforts
On June 11 at Suez’s Haworth Treatment Plant, the utility hosted an educational session with Suez water quality experts to answer questions from public officials and area residents. Vial said the session was advertised on social media and via emails.
Vial said public information materials on lead issues related to potable water were widely available there and can be accessed via Suez’s website at suezwq.com. Since January, she noted over 15,000 customers have called its customer service hotline at (800) 422-5987 and been helped with questions about lead.
‘Going out of our way’
“We are going out of our way to tell people what is going on with the lead issue,” said Vial, noting Suez trucks and crews carry information materials about lead. She said numerous public education handouts on lead could be accessed online and that Suez was creating an email educational campaign on lead soon to go out to customers.
She said Suez previously informed its 197,000 customers how to quickly determine if they are served by a Suez-owned lead service line by entering their account number and address into its online database.
Vial said no upcoming information sessions were planned but Suez would continue to make educational materials on lead available to customers online and via email.
She seemed interested in Old Tappan’s efforts to hold a lead information session and make testing kits available.
Vial said Suez is undertaking multiple efforts to reduce or eliminate high lead levels. She said these include corrosion control treatment chemistry adjustments, reviewing effects of varying water chemistry on lead leaching and levels, and analyzing pipes it removes to assess new corrosion control strategies.
The Northwest Bergen Regional Health Commission, established in 1957, also provides health officers and health services to Emerson, Hillsdale, Ho-Ho-Kus, Mahwah, Midland Park, Montvale, Old Tappan, River Vale, Saddle River, Township of Washington, Waldwick and Westwood.