SHELBY, Ohio — After Flint’s recent headlining scare, it’s the topic du jour: Is there lead in my water? Shelby’s Utilities and Streets Department answers yes, but not enough to be alarmed.
Shelby is confident their city’s lead levels are well below alarming levels; they have been for the last six years.
“We’re in good shape,” Director of Utilities John Ensman said Thursday.
According to Ensman, the city of Shelby has complied with EPA lead and copper testing since 2010. The EPA mandates a service line test every three years and Shelby’s lead and copper levels have fallen under the alarming level: 0.0155 ppm.
Shelby tests 20 water service lines every three years through EPA guidelines. Nineteen of the 20 tested have lead service lines. Ensman said there are roughly 4,000 service lines in Shelby, but he said the number of which are lead pipes is undetermined.
Ensman said the city replaces lead pipes with PVC or galvanized piping whenever they find them.
The EPA only requires 20 to be tested because of Shelby’s population density.
Out of the 20 pipes tested in 2010, 15 pipes were below the detection limit for lead. Five detected levels of lead not exceeding 0.00765 ppm. Those levels decreased in the second round of testing in 2013, 19 of the 20 tested resulted in less than 0.002 ppm. The last pipe was found to have 0.00456 ppm.
Ensman said another round of testing is approaching for Shelby in 2016. The testing will occur June 1 through Sept. 30. Twenty residents will receive a letter in the mail with details on how to properly test their water.
Ensman does not expect a problem. In fact, he expects results will show less lead detected than before.
“Nineteen of the 20 go through lines that have lead service lines, and we’re still well below the threshold. And it’s probably because of orthophosphate,” council member Garland Gates said.
According to the EPA, orthophosphate is used by water treatment plants to create a coating inside water pipes to help prevent the lead from leaching into the finished water. The compound is colorless and odorless and according to the EPA, a food-grade additive.
For those not selected for the EPA lead-in-water test but eager to find out their lead-in-water levels, Mayor Steve Schag, council member Garland Gates, council member Nathan Martin and Ensman agreed to include instructions on how to complete an at-home test in the city’s utilities newsletter.
The test could cost the resident $40 to $50.
