1,700 Green Bay homes may have lead in water

More than 1,700 Green Bay homeowners received notices this week that they could have unsafe levels of lead in their drinking water.

The letters were delivered as the Green Bay Water Utility considers spending up to $8 million to replace the lead pipes that supply water to these homes and are the source of potential contamination.

The utility has known about the pipes for decades and has been working to mitigate the problem since 2011, when testing revealed elevated lead levels in the tap water of some homes.

Lead exposure, even at low levels, can cause brain and organ damage, as well as developmental delays, in children, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

Lead service lines running from city water mains to people’s homes were once commonplace. Lead pipes were last installed in Green Bay in 1944, but they still exist in the city’s oldest neighborhoods.

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The letters mailed Monday to 1,742 homeowners, including three who operate in-home day care businesses, are the utility’s first attempt to directly notify affected people. In the past, the utility had sent generic letters about potential lead in drinking water to all of its customers. The addresses of homes with lead service lines were also posted on the utility’s web site.

“As a day care owner, I’m wondering why this is just coming up now?” said Sara Spencer, who received a letter Wednesday stating her in-home day care, named Tiny Tots, has a lead service line.

Spencer said the state required her to test her home for lead paint before it issued a license to operate a day care, but she was never warned to check for lead in her water. Tiny Tots enrolls four children, and Spencer has six of her own children who live in the home on Cass Street.

“I don’t want to say I’m mad, but I’m not happy. Why didn’t I know about this? You have to go through so many things just to open a day care, and you’d think this would be something (the state would test for). … If I had known, I would have gotten this checked out before even opening the day care,” Spencer said.

The risk of lead poisoning from Green Bay's water is low, said Rob Gollman, Brown County Health Department's environmental division manager.

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During 2014 and 2015, Brown County identified 36 children under the age of 6 with elevated levels of lead in their blood. Of those children, five lived in homes with lead water lines.

"At each of those addresses, no other siblings had elevated lead levels. It was just one child. So that would be indicative of the lead poisoning not being from the water," Gollman said.

Lead poisoning from water has become a source of public concern nationwide after the disaster in Flint, Mich., where government officials neglected to treat the water system with chemicals to prevent lead pipes from corroding and polluting the water supply.

The incident contributed to Green Bay Water Utility's decision to send the notifications this week.

“Even though we had information out there and we thought people knew about it, they may not be necessarily looking. We want to be more proactive in light of what’s going on in Flint,” said Brian Powell, engineering services manager for the Green Bay Water Utility.

“We felt (the letters) were the best way to let people know there’s a lead service line, some precautions they can take and what we’re doing it about it. We hope it alleviates their fear and not add to it,” Powell said.

Source of lead

The drinking water Green Bay brings in from Lake Michigan is free of lead; however, the toxic metal can enter the water system when lead pipes or lead solder corrodes.

Mandated water testing conducted in 2011 and 2012 revealed unsafe levels of lead in the tap water in some homes. As a result, the Environmental Protection Agency required the utility to take steps to address the problem.

Since 2011, the utility has replaced 260 lead service lines with copper or polyethylene lines. It also flushed all of the city’s water mains over the past two years to remove heavy metals, such as manganese, that can act as magnets to pull lead out of the piping.

The utility is now working on a new plan outlining its next steps for addressing the lead problem. It will include another round of testing on 100 homes this year and outline steps for replacing the remaining lead service lines by a yet-to-be-determined date.

While many communities control lead contamination with chemicals to prevent corrosion, the utility decided to seek a permanent solution to the problem, Powell said.

“Right now, we’ve been doing research on our lead services, and we decided that the best thing to do is just get the lead service lines out altogether,” he said.

Because the city is able to remove lines only in the public right of way, the program will also include tools, including a grant or loan program, to help homeowners replace the remaining lead pipes and any lead solder connections on their properties.

The final plan must be approved by the state Department of Natural Resources, Powell said.

“As long as they keep the lead below hazardous levels, then I’m happy about what they’re doing,” said Phil Hauck, a 73-year-old Jackson Street resident who received his notification letter Wednesday.

Hauck said he did not know he had a lead water pipe, but knew it was a possibility because of the age his home. He also learned Wednesday that his previous home of 23 years, where he raised his children, also has a lead service line.

“I’m pleased the city is very aware of what the challenge is. They’re measuring it, they’re thinking about it and doing something about it. As long as they keep the lead below hazardous levels, then I’m happy about what they’re doing,” he said.

Rebecca Quintanilla, owner of Lil’ Stars Family Child Care Center on Harvey Street, also learned Wednesday of the lead service line at her home and business. Quintanilla cares for five children and has three of her own. She said she is surprised and concerned.

“I know my own kids have been tested for lead, and they were never concerned about elevated lead levels, but now I don’t know if this could become a problem in the future if it’s not fixed,” she said.

One other day care, Wee Little Tracks Family Child Care on Phoebe Street, also has a lead service line, according to city records. Owner Tina Vanden Heuvel said she contacted the water utility to inspect her line and discuss remedies as soon as she learned of the lead risk this week. She said she is frustrated the utility didn't inform her sooner so that she could take steps to ensure the safety of the children she cares for.

"As soon as I received the letter I contacted the water department and did what I was supposed to do," she said.

arodewal@pressgazettemedia.com and follow him on Twitter @AdamGRodewald and on Facebook at Facebook.com/AdamGRodewald.

What should you do?

Stops to reduce your exposure to lead If you receive drinking water from a lead service line:

1. Run water for  one or two minutes to flush lead from interior plumbing if it hasn't been used for several hours.

2. Use cold water for cooking and preparing baby formula. Lead dissolves more easily into hot water.

3. Do not boil water to remove lead.

4. Consider buying bottled water or using a water filter that reduces lead.

5. Test your water for lead. Visit gbwater.org for a list of labs certified to test for lead in water.

6. Get your child's blood tested for lead. This can by done by your child's doctor.

7. Identify and replace plumbing fixtures containing lead.

SOURCE: Green Bay Water Utility