Testing shows elevated lead levels in Syracuse drinking water samples

Syracuse, N.Y. — Recent testing found elevated lead levels in tap water sampled at 27 homes in Syracuse, and city officials are urging people to learn about steps they can take to mitigate exposure.

Mayor Ben Walsh announced the elevated lead test results on Thursday. An informational letter will be mailed to all city residents within the next week. The letter is now posted on the city website under “Water Notices” at syr.gov/water.

Test results received from the state Department of Health in July showed 27 of 104 homes sampled came with back with lead levels in excess of the current federal standard of 15 parts per billion. In testing conducted in December, 12 properties exceeded the threshold.

All of the sampled sites have lead service lines bringing water from the city’s mains into homes. The city said the public portion of drinking water system feeding the sample sites have no known sources of lead.

Syracuse homes with lead service lines were built before 1930.

Use this simple test to find out if your residence has a lead service line:

Walsh said for the vast majority of residents, water remains safe to drink. But officials want residents who have lead service lines to be aware of steps they should take to mitigate lead levels. Those include:

Using only cold water for drinking because lead dissolves more easily into hot water;
Running water for a short period of time before using because the longer water sits in pipes, the more lead it’s likely to have;
Removing and cleaning faucet screens regularly;
Consider using bottled water or a filter designed to remove lead.

Lead in drinking water can lead to serious health issues. In infants and children, it can decrease IQ and attention span and cause learning and behavioral problems. Adults have increased risk for heart disease, high blood pressure and kidney or nervous system problems.

The test results are the first under a new federal Environmental Protection Agency requirement that public water systems be screened for lead every six months. Prior to this year, testing was required every three years. Later this year, the EPA is expected to finalize a rule change reducing the lead action level to 10 parts per billion. As a result, Walsh said, the city expects the lead notices to be more commonplace.

Under EPA rules, when 10 percent of homes sampled exceed the action level, public water system operators must take actions such as public education, adjusting treatment methods and replacing lead service lines.

Syracuse has for many years treated its water with a chemical that coats the inside of pipes to prevent leaching from lead pipes. At this point, officials do not plan to adjust the levels of that chemical, called orthophosphate. Walsh noted that orthophosphate levels can be an environmental concern in wastewater treatment.

The city is also in the early stages of an effort to replace all lead service lines in the city, but that’s a process that will take many years and considerable money to complete.

Residents can call the city’s water department at (315) 448-8340 or email wateroperations@syr.gov. to find out if their water service line is made of lead.

Additional information about lead in drinking water is available by calling the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791 or visiting www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.

Another unrelated notice about drinking water will arrive in residents’ mailboxes in the next few days. Syracuse’s ultraviolet treatment system at its Woodland Reservoir partially malfunctioned, so full treatment was offline June 6-13. Testing for the microorganism that UV treatment addresses was negative.

City reporter Jeremy Boyer can be reached at jboyer@syracuse.com, (315) 657-5673, Twitter or Facebook.