Lead not a problem in most Lebanon County water
All water supplies that service at least 25 people are required to test periodically for lead.
Although high levels of lead in water in Flint, Mich., and concerns about transparency in Flint and elsewhere have
Lead not a problem in most Lebanon County water
All water supplies that service at least 25 people are required to test periodically for lead.
Although high levels of lead in water in Flint, Mich., and concerns about transparency in Flint and elsewhere have triggered nationwide concerns, Lebanon County’s major public water suppliers do not have a lead problem, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
All water supplies, public or private, that service at least 25 people are required to test for lead on a periodic basis and report all results to DEP. A water system is deemed by EPA to have an “action-level exceedance” — triggering additional testing and public education requirements — if 90th-percentile tests exceed 15 parts-per-billion (ppb) of lead.
Pennsylvania American Water, the City of Lebanon Authority, Cornwall Borough Municipal Authority, Fredericksburg Sewer & Water Authority, Heidelberg Township Municipal Authority, Mount Gretna Authority, Myerstown Water Authority, Newmanstown Water Authority, Quentin Water Co., and Richland Borough Water Co. all have had fewer than two tests above 15 ppb in the last three years, according to DEP data.
By contrast, 30 water samples from one home in Flint that was tested in a Virginia Tech study had lead levels ranging from 200 ppb to 13,200 ppb.
Three years of water quality reports from several major water suppliers in Lebanon County also appeared to accurately portray the results of lead testing in their systems.
The good news of Lebanon County’s water comes with some caveats, experts warned. First, 15 parts-per-billion is a regulatory standard, not a health standard. Lead has no health benefits, so the ideal amount is none at all, said Amy Galford, a Penn State Extension water resources educator. Lead in paint is a larger issue in this region, but any lead obtained through the water supply could add to the problem.
Most tests in most of Lebanon County’s major water systems recorded levels far beneath the 15 ppb standard and many were 0 ppb, according to DEP data.
The second cause for concern is that a home’s water could still contain lead even if the public water system from which it gets its water does not.
“The main sources of lead are within private plumbing,” Galford said.
The portion of a water service line on private property is considered to be property owner’s responsibility, and is particularly likely to contain lead elements on older homes, experts said. Even newer homes often have plumbing fittings, elbow joints and solder joints that contain lead, said Steve Fulton, an environmental engineer with ARM Group in Hershey who specializes in water supplies and systems.
Unknown lead lines
Lead contamination can occur anywhere from the groundwater source itself to the spigot from which the water is poured, Fulton said.
Service lines are part of the path water travels from the source to the spigot. However, representative