Lead Water Service Lines: Extensive Sampling and Field Protocol Protect Public Health

Lewis, Carrie M.; Couillard, Lon A.; Klappa, Patricia J.; Vandenbush, Terrence D.

doi:10.5942/jawwa.2017.109.0016

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…[15,16] Physical, hydraulic, and chemical disturbances to these lead pipes and associated galvanized pipes have resulted in measurable and undesirable particulate release. [7,[17][18][19][20] The size of the "particles" can range from the nanometer scale to naked-eye visibility, and the size and mobility are governed by water chemistry factors. [15,16,21] Figure 1 illustrates an example of granular particulate material in a Flint household, that was large enough to be filtered out by the faucet aerator.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

POU water filters effectively reduce lead in drinking water: a demonstration field study in flint, Michigan

Bosscher

Lytle

Schock

et al. 2019

Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A

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A field study was conducted to test the effectiveness of faucet-mounted point of use (POU) water filters for removing high concentrations of lead in drinking water from premise plumbing sources and lead service lines (LSL). These filters were concurrently certified for total lead removal under NSF/ANSI Standard 53 (NSF/ANSI-53) and for fine particulate (Class I) reduction under NSF/ANSI Standard 42 (NSF/ANSI-42). In 2016, filtered and unfiltered drinking water samples were collected at over 345 locations in Flint, Michigan. Over 97% of filtered water samples contained lead below 0.5 mg/L. The maximum lead concentration in filtered water was 2.9 mg/L, well below the bottled water standard. The effectiveness of the POU activated carbon block filters in reducing lead concentrations, even above the 150 mg/L NSF/ANSI-53 challenge standard, is likely related to trapping particles due to the small effective pore size of the filters, in addition to ion-exchange or sorption removal of soluble lead. Properly installed and maintained POU filters, certified under both NSF/ ANSI-53 (for total lead) and NSF/ANSI-42 (for fine particulate), can protect all populations, including pregnant women and children, by reducing lead in drinking water to levels that would not result in a significant increase in overall lead exposure.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

POU water filters effectively reduce lead in drinking water: a demonstration field study in flint, Michigan

Bosscher

Lytle

Schock

et al. 2019

Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A

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“…Mobility and space constraints are additional limiting factors of this technique (Lead Service Line Replacement Collaborative, n.d.‐b). Mechanical excavations may be more likely to disturb or damage the SL and nearby utility infrastructure (Katerndahl & Bizal, 2003; Oswald, 2018), and LSL disturbances can cause elevated lead levels in drinking water (Del Toral et al, 2013; Lewis et al, 2017). Manual excavation using a hand‐held shovel can be used in combination with mechanical excavation to limit potential disturbance or damage to subsurface utilities.…”

Section: Identification Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lead service line identification: A review of strategies and approaches

et al. 2021

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Lead service lines (LSLs) represent the greatest source of lead in drinking water. Identifying the locations of LSLs can be challenging, and recent service line (SL) material surveys in Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana found that on average the materials making up 16% of SLs in these states are unknown and may be lead. Given the large number of possible LSLs in the United States, new and pending regulatory requirements, LSL replacement costs, associated lead exposure risks, and the public's desire to reduce lead exposure, there is a need to rapidly and cost‐effectively identify where LSLs are located, on public and private property. This review summarizes current industry LSL identification methods, including records screening, basic visual examination of indoor plumbing, water sampling, excavation, and predictive data analyses. A qualitative comparison of method cost, accuracy, disturbance, and other impacts is provided as a starting point for utilities that are developing a feasible approach for their specific needs/constraints. Lastly, an example stepwise approach to identify unknown SL materials is proposed. Article Impact Statement This manuscript provides water systems with a review of techniques available to identify LSLs.

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“…Only first-liter LCR compliance sampling data are available in states' standardized compliance databases. Therefore, most of the LSL, or sequential, sampling data that have been widely studied come from either individual researched water systems (e.g., Cincinnati (Tully et al, 2019), Milwaukee (Lewis et al, 2017)) or samples collected in response to a crisis, such as in Flint, MI (FlintWaterStudy, 2015;Masten, n.d.;Pieper et al, 2018); Newark, NJ; Washington, DC; and Pittsburgh, PA. Lead occurrence data reviews have focused on available first-liter data compiled from federal LCR compliance sampling (Brown et al, 2013;Grant et al, 2020;Slabaugh et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lessons from the first year of compliance sampling under Michigan's revised Lead and Copper Rule and national Lead and Copper Rule implications

Betanzo¹,

Rhyan

Hanna‐Attisha

2021

AWWA Water Science

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In 2018, Michigan revised its Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) compliance sampling requirements to better represent the potential lead contribution from lead service lines (LSLs). The first year of sampling results under the new requirements were analyzed to determine their impact on lead sampling results. The dataset reveals statistically significant higher detected lead levels, both at individual sample sites and in some water system 90th percentiles. Michigan's LCR results reveal the percentage of public water systems with LSLs exceeding the lead action level (15 ppb) increasing to 13% compared to 2% under the previous sampling protocol.Michigan's experience demonstrates that solely collecting first-liter data, consistent with current LCR requirements, is inadequate for detecting the higher range of lead concentrations commonly found in LSL samples. As the 2021 EPA LCR revision includes fifth-liter and removes first-liter compliance sampling, Michigan's lessons portend national implications. This paper evaluates Michigan's novel 2019 LCR results, compares the results to previous sampling periods, and shares lessons learned for timely national policy decisions.

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Lead Water Service Lines: Extensive Sampling and Field Protocol Protect Public Health

Abstract: A pilot study in milwaukee, wis., assessed lead levels before and after water main replacement and led to a new sampling and communication protocol for addressing possible increased lead at the taps of customers with lead service lines.

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

POU water filters effectively reduce lead in drinking water: a demonstration field study in flint, Michigan

POU water filters effectively reduce lead in drinking water: a demonstration field study in flint, Michigan

Lead service line identification: A review of strategies and approaches

Lessons from the first year of compliance sampling under Michigan's revised Lead and Copper Rule and national Lead and Copper Rule implications

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