Lead in our Water: Lessons from Flint to Massachusetts. Hosted by Tufts Institute of the Environment

[mem-winterhill.livejournal.com]

Two interesting tidbits I noticed in the last couple of days.

Public talk, Hosted by Tufts Institute of the Environment, co-sponsored by the Mystic River Watershed Association: https://www.facebook.com/events/1030573890321787/

Media coverage on the water crisis in Flint, Michigan has made us all aware of the devistation faced by residents of the area. This event brings together experts to discuss the events that have been occuring, not as a crisis for just Flint residents, but as a window into water issues in America and Massachusetts. What lessons can be learned from the Flint water crisis?

Event is FREE and open to the public.

Tuesday, April 12 at 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Room 104, Pearson Hall - 62 Talbot Ave, Somerville

And related:

MWRA Approves Funding to Remove Lead Service Lines in Somerville [MWRA here is Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, different group]:

Comments

[mem-winterhill.livejournal.com]

Wanted to post my notes from this in case anyone went looking later. Cross-posted from reddit/r/somerville.

For those who might be interested, here are some take-aways from this event. The key point: there are no safe levels of lead. Not for kids, not for adults, not for your pets.

1. This was a high-powered panel of people who knew their stuff. Well connected, deeply involved, wicked smaht, and I was very glad to hear they are paying attention to water issues. Kudos to Mystic River Water Assn + Tufts.

2. The multiple failures in Flint are nothing sort of atrocious. There are also other communities that are having issues, but failures at so many levels in Flint is astounding.
The service lines are the problem even around here. Some lead solder in some homes, but they are small potatoes compared the the service lines. The city owns some of this, some homeowners have parts of it.

3. There is a big grant program to cities in MA for lead service line removals. It's not clear how that will impact individual communities, but it could come your way. If you are a homeowner in this situation, a partial removal (like just the city part) isn't advised. The whole things needs to be done. [I saw something on this recently here: http://patch.com/massachusetts/somerville/mwra-approves-funding-remove-lead-service-lines-somerville-0 ]

4. The city of Boston has a map somewhere of every lead service line they have. They didn't say where, but if you want you can look for them. Some towns will give you the info if you call them, but it's not digitized. Some have no idea. [Edit to add the Boston map: http://www.bwsc.org/COMMUNITY/lead/leadmaps.asp#TOP_PAGE]

5. Locally we use pH and alkaline control for corrosion prevention. Other places use different things because of local issues. So it will vary, and one isn't necessarily better than another treatment. It depends on the location.

6. If you are a homeowner and want to test your water, keep in mind that when you take the sample matters. Right off the faucet, you could be getting your faucet's lead (some older faucets have this, standards used to be different). A bit longer, you get your house pipes. Running longer, you get your service line. So think about the protocol you want to do. They advised calling the city water dept to help you do it right. Some will come out and help you.

7. They have certified labs that they suggest people use for quality testing--not the Big Home Improvement store tests, you know? This appears to be the list they talked about: http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/water/drinking/certified-laboratories.html

There was an enviro lawyer in the audience, he's teaching some kind of Tufts class on water quality. He's looking for interns interested in this for the summer. http://www.environmentamerica.org/staff/ame/john-rumpler

Very interesting and informative.