Drinking Water Problems Corrosion Lead Copper Metals – My Drinking Water is it Safe?
Article for: private well owner, spring user, city water customer, regulated water supply, water utility customer, homeowner, landlord, tenant, drinking water
The Flint water crisis reportedly started in 2014 and ended in 2019, but in reality the “crisis” started prior to 2014 and probably has not ended. Why? The problem with corrosion within the water system and individual’s homes clearly started prior to 2014 and the customers and users within the system were not aware of the short-comings in their drinking water quality, the need for corrosion control, need to replace service laterals, plumbing within their homes, the need to be proactive in protecting your personal and families’ health, lack of public outreach and education, and not knowing the wrong signs of a corrosion problem The main purpose of this article is to help identify the warning signs of a potential corrosion problem with your drinking water. The signs of a corrosion problem come in many forms, but it is important for the user to take responsibility for keeping their eyes open. Corrosion of our drinking water supplies is a very common water quality and public health issue that is related to not only the raw water quality, level of pretreatment, status of the community distribution system, the internal plumbing for a building, the usage and management of water within the building, and the fixtures used within the system. This sounds overwhelming, but there are clear warning signs you may have a problems.
The most common signs of a problem with corrosion included the following:
- Blue-green or greenish water or even reddish brown or brown water that may be intermittent and worse in the hot water than the cold water.
- Staining of porcelain fixtures, such as sinks, drains, or tubs that appear green, blue-green, and reddish brown.
- Coatings on aeration devices that appears greenish-gray or bluish green and particles on the screen of the aerator that appear green, bluish-green, greenish-gray, reddish-brown, yellow-brown, or even bluish-gray.
- Discoloration of water piping near solder joints and/or pin-hole leaks in piping and the premature failure of water appliances and water heaters.
- Old piping in a home that may include lead pipes or piping that was installed using high lead solder, such as lead service lines and galvanized piping.
- The first flush of the water from the tap may have a bitter taste.
What is the age of your home, when was the house last remodeled, and the piping in your home?
YOUR household plumbing may be the cause for lead in your drinking water. In older homes, lead was used to make the piping and/or solder. In homes, built prior to 1930’s water pipes were primarily made from lead. These pipes can be identified because the piping tends to have a dull gray color, can be scratched with a key, and a magnet will not stick to the piping. In buildings built between the 1930’s and early 1980’s, copper pipes were often used, but the solder contained elevated levels of lead. The primary source of the lead includes the use of lead pipes, lead lined tanks, and use of 50/50 lead/tin solder. Because of the concern with lead, the EPA banned the use of high lead solders in 1986.
In the 1950’s and 1960’s galvanized water lines was utilized in new home construction. Currently, this type of piping is not widely used, but it is more commonly used with well water applications. This piping is steel piping that has a zinc coating to reduce the tendency for the piping to corrode. When this pipe corrodes, the pipe rust from the inside of the pipe and then works outward. When this occurs, the water may produce intermittent discolored water that tends to be brown, yellow, or reddish brown, and the piping will likely clog with rust and most likely collapse over time. This does not mean that a newer home is safe from lead contamination; in fact, the available data suggests that buildings less than 5 years old can have high levels of lead.
In fact, buildings built prior to 1986 likely contain some lead plumbing. Prior to 2014, the legal definition for “lead free” was plumbing fixtures with a lead content of less than 8 %. In 2014, the term was redefined to include only fixtures with a lead content of 0.25% and newly installed fixtures must use the “lead free” materials, but this did not apply to fixtures currently in use.
What You Can Do to Protect Yourself and Your Family?
After getting this information, you should do the following:
- Inspect your plumbing system for signs or evidence of a corrosion problem and low cost lead screening testing (water) or (paint,dust, soil).
- Take note of the visual and aesthetic signs of a corrosive water problem.
- Try our Free Drinking Water Diagnostic Tool.
- Order the Drinking Water Guide.
- Get Your Drinking Water Tested and the Results Reviewed by a Professional. At a minimum, we recommend the “Corrosion Check” Water Test Kit.
- Act to improve your drinking water quality by reporting problems to your local water authority for public water supplies or if your water comes from a private water source take the necessary action to reduce the risk to the health of yourself and your family and to reduce the potential costs associated with the premature failure and/or invalidating the warranty of water related appliances, water leaks and associated damage, and/or the additional operational costs associated with inefficiencies associated with clogged or corroded piping/equipment.
- Update fixtures and piping and consider the use of point-of-use filters or a whole-house water treatment system. Before installing a water treatment system, please get a comprehensive water quality test (City Water) or (Well Water).
Our Motto is ” Learn / Diagnose / Test “
Learn – learn about your source and system.
Diagnose – determine the warning signs or symptoms of a problem and get the water tested and problem diagnosed.
Test – implement an approach to mitigate the problem and test to make sure the problem is corrected.
Source: Oram, Brian; “Lead In Drinking Water – Is There Lead In My City Drinking Water ?”, Water Research Center / Know Your H20 Program, 2020.
Recommended Reading:
The Poisoned City: Flint’s Water
More on Lead
Podcast Pike County with Brian Oram Septic and Environmental Issues
On September 19, 2019, the Pike County Conservation District hosted a 2-hour informational work and training session. The topic – Properly Maintaining Your On-Lot Septic System. In January 2020, I visited with Pike County and did a podcast. When Pike County Informs Me – I will post a link to the Podcast here. In the interim, this was the information on the September Talk.
To help Pike County residents keep local lakes and ponds clean, the Pike County Conservation District is hosting a free three-part workshop series titled “How your Backyard Activities Affect your Lake.”This is the third workshop in the series. It will be held at the Dingman Township Fire Hall, 680 Log Tavern Road. Presenter Brian Oram, a Professional Geologist with Water Research Center and B.F. Environmental Consultants Inc., will discuss the basic functionality of an on-lot system and best practices to help prevent water pollution.
During the session – Mr. Brian Oram promised to post a few items:
- Here is a color copy of the presentation septicsystemspresentation92019. Please note copyright terms and conditions.
- Here is a copy of a document the presenter found available on the local agency website on septic systems.
- The Keystone Clean Water Team on-line store, get a copy of our educational booklet, order a neighborhood hazard report, mail order water testing program, at-home water screening and more.
- Keystone Clean Water Team new diagnostic tool and free phone app for drinking water issues. Go To – http://www.drinkingH20app.com
Other Training On Septic Systems (ONLINE)
1. EPA Onsite Wastewater Treatment: Systems Management
2. EPA Onsite Wastewater Treatment: Processes and Systems
Reading Recommendations
Wells and Septic Systems Paperback
The Septic System Owner’s Manual Paperback
Drinking Water Quality Phone Apps
The Keystone Clean Water Team with assistance from B.F. Environmental Consultants, Inc and the Water Research Center have developed and updated 2 phone apps. The apps work on both the Android and the Apple iphone platform. Know Your H2O? is an educational tool that can help you diagnose the problem with your water. This app will lead you through a series of questions to pinpoint the issues with your water. Unlike other apps that just remind you to drink water, these apps actually help to diagnose a water quality problem and/or provide insight into water quality contaminants may be a concern based on a variety of activities.
Know Your H2O
Know Your H2O? is an educational tool that can help you diagnose the problem with your water. This app will lead you through a series of questions to pinpoint the issues with your water. You can reach your diagnosis through describing symptoms that are effecting your home, your health, or the water itself. Once you receive your diagnosis result(s), the app is designed to educate you by displaying full lists of symptoms, causes, and solutions, as well as links to other educational sources. The app will then show you various testing kit options specifically designed to treat those results. If the problem is more extensive and in depth testing is required, Know Your H2O? will also connect you with featured local professionals. What’s in YOUR Water?
Recommendation: Wells and Septic Systems Paperback
PA Baseline Testing
The PA Baseline Testing mobile app is an educational tool for residents of Pennsylvania who are impacted by Oil & Gas Development, Subsurface Coal Development, and other common environmental hazards. By selecting which factor impacts your region, you can discover various Recommendations and Tiers of water testing that can help bring you piece of mind about the safety of your drinking water. Got Data? You can also submit your own testing data and results to help continue to build the PA Clean Water Team’s database.
To learn more go to Download the Free Drinking Water Quality Mobile Apps
Penn State surveys roadside springs
blog.pennlive.com/pa-sportsman/2014/01/penn_state_surveys_roadside_springs_grouse_meeting_and_more_outdoor_insider.html
By Marcus Schneck | mschneck@pennlive.com
January 05, 2014
Nearly all of the 35 roadside springs across Pennsylvania – all heavily used for drinking water supplies – checked by researchers in a Penn State Extension survey failed at least one drinking water standard. Roadside springs are a common source of drinking water in Pennsylvania, but little is known about the quality of the water. Penn State Water Resources Extension Educators Jim Clark and Diane Oleson surveyed the springs to determine the drinking water. The 35 roadside springs included in the survey were mostly located within PennDOT road rights-of-ways in 19 counties. Water samples were collected by seven Penn State Water Resources Extension Educators between April and August of 2013. Each sample was analyzed for 20 common inorganic and microbiological water quality parameters by the Agricultural Analytical Services Laboratory at Penn State.
Overall, 97 percent of the roadside springs failed at least one drinking water standard. The most common health-related pollutants were coliform bacteria (91 percent), E. coli bacteria (34 percent) and lead (3 percent). Other common pollutants that could cause various tastes or other aesthetic issues included corrosive water (89 percent), low pH (40 percent), sediment (31 percent), iron (6 percent) and manganese (6 percent). Several pollutants were not found in any of the springs in excessive concentrations including aluminum, nitrate, arsenic, barium, copper and chloride. Clark and Oleson suggest that these results should provide caution for anyone currently collecting and drinking water from a roadside spring.
Volunteer
We seek new people at all skill levels for a variety of programs. One thing that everyone can do is attend meetings to share ideas on improving CCGG, enabling us to better understand and address the concerns of well owners.
Everything we do began with an idea.
We realize your time is precious and the world is hectic. CCGG’s volunteers do only what they’re comfortable with. It can be a little or a lot.
For more information, please go to CCGG’s About Page or contact us.
Carbon County Groundwater Guardians is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Unsolicited donations are appreciated.
Help the Organization and Get Your Water Tested or Order the Private Well Owner Guide (proceeds benefit This Organization).
National Protect Your Groundwater Day
Penn State Extension and MWON Promote National Protect Your Groundwater Day—September 10, 2013
Penn State Extension and the Master Well Owner Network are excited to announce a variety of educational efforts in recognition of the National Ground Water Association’s Protect Your Groundwater Day on September 10, 2013.
A live webinar will be broadcast from 12:00 to 1:00 PM entitled Strategies to Protect Private Wells and Springs in Pennsylvania to highlight basic management strategies that homeowners can use to protect their drinking water. The webinar will also highlight numerous Penn State publications and web tools that are available to private water well and spring owners. The live webinar can be viewed at
< https://meeting.psu.edu/water1 >
During the evening of September 10, Penn State water resources educators will present a Safe Drinking Water Clinic in Ebensburg, PA for water well and spring owners. This will be the first in a series of Safe Drinking Water Clinics which will be offered around the state in the next 12 months.
More information about this online course can be found at:
< http://extension.psu.edu/water/mwon >
The Penn State Extension Water Resources team along with Master Well Owners provide education and assistance for thousands of private water well and spring owners across Pennsylvania each year. Tune in on September 10 to learn more about our resources and how to protect your groundwater!
To learn more about the National Ground Water Association and Protect Your Groundwater Day, visit their website at:
< http://www.ngwa.org/Events-Education/groundwater-day/ >
To celebrate National Protect Groundwater Day – The Carbon County Groundwater Guardians will be participating in the PA Energy Games in Hughesville, PA on September 7, 2013. We will have information on private wells, groundwater, alternative energy, conservation and Biomass. Stop by and Say Hello !
Support the Local Groundwater Education – Get Your Water Tested !
For information about Carbon County’s Groundwater Guardian activities, contact the Us.
Volunteer
We seek new people at all skill levels for a variety of programs. One thing that everyone can do is attend meetings to share ideas on improving CCGG, enabling us to better understand and address the concerns of well owners.
Everything we do began with an idea.
We realize your time is precious and the world is hectic. CCGG’s volunteers do only what they’re comfortable with. It can be a little or a lot.
For more information, please go to CCGG’s About Page or contact us.
Carbon County Groundwater Guardians is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.. Unsolicited donations are appreciated.
Help the Organization and Get Your Water Tested or Order the Private Well Owner Guide (proceeds benefit This Organization).
News Release: EPA participates in Blue Mountain tree planting project at Palmerton Zinc Superfund site
PHILADELPHIA (May 22, 2013) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and three partner organizations are planting 5,500 new trees on 70 acres of mountainside at the Palmerton Zinc Superfund Site along the Appalachian Trail in Palmerton, Pa. that will be in place by Memorial Day.
“EPA is proud to be part of this tree planting venture that helps transform a previously barren and contaminated site into a beautiful ecological vista along the Appalachian Trail,” said EPA mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin.
This is the second year of tree planting, which is the final step in re-vegetating Blue Mountain – – a joint effort involving EPA, the National Park Service, the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the American Chestnut Foundation. The area had suffered extensive environmental damage that was caused by years of emissions from zinc smelting operations in the Borough of Palmerton.
Last spring about 8,350 trees were planted. Before the tree planting, EPA and the National Park Service oversaw grass planting and other re-vegetation on a 500-acre section of the site that had to be done from aircraft due to the steep slope and remote location.
National Park Service Northeast Regional Director Dennis Reidenbach noted, “This is an excellent example of how collaborative public and private partnerships can have a meaningful and positive impact for the environment.”
Initially the trees will be protected by deer-proof fencing. The trees include a special mostly American, potentially blight-resistant generation of American chestnut which can help re-establish these trees in the eastern United States. Once prevalent in forests throughout the eastern United States, American Chestnuts were nearly wiped out by a blight causing fungus that was introduced around 1900.
“We are impressed by the interagency cooperation on this project and excited about the prospect of American Chestnuts once again flourishing on the Appalachian Trail,” said American Chestnut Foundation’s Sara Fitzsimmons.
In addition to the chestnut trees, various oaks, Black Gum, Sumacs, Chokeberry and Sweet Ferns will be included. Planting the seeds, seedlings, bare roots and rhizome cuttings will require drilling holes with an auger. The holes will be filled with top soil and a nursery mix.
The tree planting is being paid for by CBS Inc., formerly Viacom International, and the party potentially responsible for the contamination. More information on the Palmerton site see EPA’s website: http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/super/sites/PAD002395887/index.htm .
Contact: Bonnie Smith smith.bonnie@epa.gov, 215-814-5543
Volunteer
We seek new people at all skill levels for a variety of programs. One thing that everyone can do is attend meetings to share ideas on improving CCGG, enabling us to better understand and address the concerns of well owners.
Everything we do began with an idea.
We realize your time is precious and the world is hectic. CCGG’s volunteers do only what they’re comfortable with. It can be a little or a lot.
For more information, please go to CCGG’s About Page or contact us.
Carbon County Groundwater Guardians is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Webinar to examine stray shale-gas migration into groundwater
Sampling stray gas that is bubbling up through surface water.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Investigations into natural gas from shale development migrating into groundwater will be the focus of a free, Web-based seminar offered by Penn State Extension.
To be presented at 1 p.m. on March 21, “A Geochemical Context for Stray Gas Investigations in the Northern Appalachian Basin,” is part of a monthly series of one-hour webinars.
According to presenter Fred Baldassare, senior geoscientist with ECHELON Applied Geoscience Consulting, as shale gas exploration and development has increased over the past five years, stray gas migration in groundwater has become a hot topic. He will discuss the various sources of methane and the need to review each case individually to determine its origin.
“The occurrence of methane in aquifer systems represents a natural condition in many areas of the Appalachian Basin,” he said. “The origin can be the result of microbial and thermogenic processes that convert organic matter in the aquifer strata to methane, and to lower concentrations of ethane and heavier hydrocarbons in some areas of the basin.
“Or it can result from the progressive migration of hydrocarbon gas over geologic time from the source and/or reservoir to the aquifer.”
But in some instances, Baldassare pointed out, the stray gas that occurs in the aquifer and manifests in private water supplies can be the result of gas-well drilling.
“That happens where pressure combines with ineffective casing cement bonds to create pathways,” he said. “Alleged incidents of stray gas migration must be investigated at the site-specific level and must include isotope geochemistry to determine gas origin and diagnostic evidence to determine a mechanism of migration.”
Presented by Penn State Extension’s Marcellus Education Team, the monthly natural-gas webinars usually are offered from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursdays. Upcoming webinars will cover the following topics:
–April 24: Utica Reservoirs — Mike Arthur, Penn State professor of geosciences and co-director of the Penn State Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research.
–May 16: Shale Energy Development’s Effect on the Posting, Bonding and Maintenance of Roads in Rural Pennsylvania — Mark Gaines, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Bureau of Maintenance, Operations and Roadway Management, and Tim Ziegler, Penn State Larson Transportation Institute, Center for Dirt and Gravel Road Studies.
–June 20: Royalty Calculations for Natural Gas from Shale — Jim Ladlee, associate director, Penn State Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research.
Previous webinars, publications and information also are available on the Penn State Extension natural-gas website (http://extension.psu.edu/naturalgas), covering a variety of topics, such as Act 13; seismic testing; air pollution from gas development; water use and quality; zoning; gas-leasing considerations for landowners; gas pipelines and right-of-way issues; legal issues surrounding gas development; and the impact of Marcellus gas development on forestland.
Registration for this webinar is not necessary, and all are welcome to participate by logging in to https://meeting.psu.edu/pscems . For more information, contact Carol Loveland at 570-320-4429 or by email at cal24@psu.edu .
< http://news.psu.edu/story/267750/2013/03/08/webinar-examine-stray-shale-gas-migration-groundwater >
Carbon County Groundwater Guardians is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved nonprofit, volunteer organization and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Well water testing and educational program.
The Potential for Waterborne Spread of MRSA
One Bad Bug
By Kelly A. Reynolds, MSPH, PhD , Associate Professor at the University of Arizona College of Public Health
The emergence and increased prevalence of the ‘superbug’ bacterium known as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), has raised questions as to the routes of transmission related to disease. Reports of MRSA infections in the general population and evidence of the bacteria surviving in wastewater, tap water and drinking water biofilms creates alarm in the public and warrants a discussion of whether or not MRSA infections occur from tapwater exposures.
Read more (pdf)
Be Groundwater Aware
Groundwater Awareness Week March 10-16, 2013
Some 44 percent of the U.S. population depends on groundwater, the water that fills cracks and other openings in beds of rock and sand, for its drinking water supply — be it from either a public source or private well. In rural areas, the number is about 96 percent. That fact alone justifies the need for National Groundwater Awareness Week, to be observed March 10-16, 2013. But groundwater is important to us in many other ways, as well.
Read more (pdf)
Groundwater Awareness Week March 10-16, 2013
Hospitals to study drilling and health
Geisinger is part of first large-scale study of Marcellus Shale’s medical impact.DANVILLE – Geisinger Health System will team with two other regional health systems to study the health impacts of Marcellus Shale gas drilling in what’s said to be the first large-scale, “scientifically rigorous assessment” of the health effects of natural-gas production.
Geisinger announced Monday it received a $1 million grant from the Degenstein Foundation to help underwrite data-gathering and develop studies of the data.
Geisinger will partner with Guthrie Health of Sayre, a health-care system serving northern Pennsylvania and southern New York, and Susquehanna Health of Williamsport, for the study.
“The Degenstein Foundation’s support of this research project comes at a critical time for the residents of Pennsylvania who live in the Marcellus Shale region,” said Dr. Glenn D. Steele Jr., M.D., Ph.D., president and chief executive officer at Geisinger Health System.
“The establishment of reliable and valid data regarding the potential health impacts of Marcellus Shale gas drilling is essential for informed policy decisions.”
Surveillance network
The study will include the development of a health surveillance network to assess patient-level data secured via electronic health record and make data available for research purposes.
Geisinger said some of the health effects that will be investigated first may include asthma, cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Preliminary results of data analysis may be released within the next year, while other aspects of the research will unfold over five, 10 or 15 years.
Michael Apfelbaum, co-trustee of the Degenstein Foundation, said, “Geisinger’s research into the health impacts of natural-gas drilling fits perfectly with our mission, and we are proud to support this important initiative.”
In August 2012, Geisinger announced plans to use its extensive electronic health records, along with the electronic health records of Guthrie Health and Susquehanna Health, to investigate the possible health effects of Marcellus Shale gas drilling.
The study will look at detailed health histories of hundreds of thousands of patients who live near the Marcellus Shale, a rock formation in which energy companies already have drilled about 5,000 natural-gas wells.
“We anticipate additional institutional partners,” said Dr. Joseph Scopelliti, president and CEO of Guthrie.
“Our aim is to create a cross-disciplinary and sharable repository of data on environmental exposures, health outcomes and community impacts. The analysis of this data will further allow for the development of appropriate interventions.”
Jeffrey Apfelbaum, co-trustee of the Degenstein Foundation, said the landscape of the region is in a state of immense change.
“This project will make a difference in our region as we seek to better understand the shifts occurring around us,” he said.
The majority of the funding will be used to underwrite growth of the necessary data-gathering infrastructure and to help develop strategic studies of the data gathered.
Degenstein Foundation
The Degenstein Foundation was created by Charles B. Degenstein to improve the quality of life and to provide financial support to organizations with clear statements of purpose, well-defined programs and competent leadership.
Special consideration is given to unique, innovative and creative projects that benefit children, promote education, improve health care, encourage business, culture, conservation of natural resources and protection of the environment.
www.timesleader.com/stories/Hospitals-to-study-drilling-and-health,265425?category_id=487&town_id=1&sub_type=stories
Bill O’Boyle – boboyle@timesleader.com – 570-829-7218