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Originally published in: The Herald-Sun Sunday, January 14, 2007

By Guest Columnist Patrick Baker, Durham city manager

What should you know about Durham's drinking water? First and foremost, you should know that the water leaving our distribution system is safe. However, if you live in a home at highest risk, those built just prior to North Carolina's 1985 lead solder ban, there are steps that you can take to help ensure that the water coming out of your faucet is even safer, such as running your water for about a minute before using it. Recently, though, you may have read articles that questioned how Durham conducted tests for lead in our drinking water last year. Because it is important that you, the public, have confidence in the City as a distributor of drinking water, I wanted address this issue directly.

Durham has been in the businesses of supplying drinking water to our citizens for almost 100 years. Since that time, quality testing procedures have improved tremendously; in fact, to the point to where lead and other compounds are measured in parts per billion. I'm told that a part per billion is the equivalent of taking one step up on a stairway to the moon. That's good news, given the widely known health risks lead poses to people, particularly children under age six, and pregnant women. Furthermore, testing procedures for public water systems are regulated by the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), which is responsible for enforcing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations. The City of Durham has, and always will, strive to comply with, and even go beyond, recommended protocols and procedures to meet our customers' expectations and needs.

Although we have not been told by DENR or EPA that we have violated any rules, we take allegations regarding our testing protocols and our concerns for public health very seriously. Durham residents are entitled to have a clear and accurate understanding of the quality of our water. Accordingly, I am seeking an independent review of our lead testing and notification protocols and will make this report public.

Following concerns that a child may have ingested a high amount of lead from water in a Durham apartment complex, the City conferred with county and state officials regarding lead testing. We also engaged in an extensive campaign to advise all Durham residents of the risks of lead exposure and simple steps residents could take to greatly reduce, if not eliminate, their exposure. Residents in homes built before 1986 were encouraged to have their water tested free of charge by the City - and more than 800 did. Although we were not required to conduct federally mandated lead and copper compliance testing until 2007, the City volunteered to conduct this compliance testing of 69 homes in September 2006. Prior to the September compliance testing, the City, again on our own initiative, identified nine homes from the compliance pool for special investigational testing last July and August. These nine homes were selected because the lead levels in their tap water increased from the 2001 to the 2004 compliance testing rounds. The purpose of the special testing was to determine whether the City could reduce the amount of lead leaching from the plumbing of these homes by changing certain treatment chemicals used by the City. Follow-up tests showed the changes were effective in reducing lead from all but one of those homes. State regulators approved our September compliance testing plans and were aware of the treatment changes made in July and August.

As has been reported, the results of our compliance testing in September showed that more than 90 percent of the homes met safe drinking water standards. However, at issue is whether or not the three rounds of special investigational tests, which showed varying high levels of lead in some homes, should have been included as part of the compliance testing. We have sought guidance from state and EPA officials on this issue. We hope that the City will not be penalized for proactive actions taken in the interest of public health to reduce lead exposure in these homes by having to include these rounds of testing as part of the compliance determination.

While the quantity of customer requests for lead testing last year was unusual, more than 800 compared to a typical 20 tests per year, we acknowledge that it is our responsibility to be aware of state and EPA rules for testing and reporting. As soon as we became aware of the requirement to submit customer requested test results to the state, we did so immediately. We have always and will continue to communicate test results to our customers, and will now strengthen that practice by sending results by certified mail.

No matter the findings, an independent review can only strengthen our lead and copper testing program and, hopefully, your confidence in the City's ability to provide safe water to you, our customer. We pledge that we will make the independent review available to you when it is complete. You can find more information on reducing risks for lead in drinking water on the following Web sites: www.epa.gov, or by calling the EPA Safe Drinking Water hotline at (800) 426-4791. If you have any questions or comments, please call Durham One Call at 560-1200 and ask to speak to a water management representative.