You’ve likely heard about the problem in Flint, Michigan, in which residents have suffered from lead poisoning due to the water coming from old lead water mains. Flint is not the only city with an old infrastructure. From a recent Schwartz Report …
”Two thousand American municipal water systems show elevated levels of lead in the water they provide — I just read a report about Portland, Oregon — and the number is growing. What is the response of the leaders we have elected to protect our interests? Basically nothing.”
• • • • • • • •
Chicago residents take action to be rid of lead pipes as fear of toxic water grows
Residents who can are paying to have their home’s
pipework replaced amid concern over water quality.
But for most, the cost is way beyond their means
2 June 2016
Michael Kerrigan has been a busy man since the full scale of lead contamination in Flint, Michigan, became apparent. Kerrigan’s plumbing business, located a dozen miles north of Chicago’s downtown area, has already removed the lead water pipes of 15 homes this year – the same total as the whole of 2015. Kerrigan says …
“We are constantly getting calls about it, people
are very aware of what’s going on in the news.
People are concerned. It’s usually people with
children. Kids are far more affected than
adults by lead, so everyone is a
bit worried about that.”
This advice, along with the Flint disaster and several uncomfortably high lead readings in Chicago, has sparked a stampede of residents demanding their water tested or lead lines ripped up. Chicago hasn’t quite replicated the crisis engulfing Flint, but the specter of toxic water is starting to haunt the city.
Twenty years ago, Kerrigan tore up the lead pipes leading to his own home in Evanston. He says …
“I had young children and although I hadn’t got
them tested for lead, I just wanted the pipes gone.”
With an estimated 80% of Chicago’s households connected to water pipes made of lead, Kerrigan would probably be even busier if it weren’t for the price tag. It can cost around $18,000 for the three days of work to replace the entire length of lead service line that runs from a house to the main in the street.
For roughly $10,000, part of the line can be replaced instead. But this cheaper option is highly problematic – the face of a lead pipe cut to join on to a copper pipe is exposed to running water and can make the contamination worse, rather than better. Low-income households are generally priced out of the complete fix.
Water departments
to change lead-testing
methods after investigation
Instructions provided varied greatly, ranging from those that contained protocols the EPA advised against a decade ago to those that were periodically updated.
Michael Giglio, another plumber who operates from Calumet City, says people in his area aren’t able to afford lead service line replacements. The risk of lead looms large in the poorer neighborhoods. He says …
“It’s truly a question of economics, it’s hard
for the homeowner to afford the replacement
without any assistance from the government.
This situation could go from smoke and
smoldering to a full-on fire at any time.”
City officials are adamant that Chicago’s water, drawn from Lake Michigan and treated with phosphate to avoid lead contamination, is safe to drink. But the city relies upon lead testing that largely rests upon samples taken from former and current city employees, rather than selected high-risk households, as the Guardian revealed in February. A city of Chicago spokesman said:
“In Chicago the water service line is the responsibility
of the property owner. Should the owner decide to
change the service line, private issue on private
property would require a licensed bonded plumber.
“Once a water main has been replaced, residents
receive instructions on how to flush their water
lines to eliminate the possibility of lead or any
other contaminate from their water system.”
The city has previously said that it has used its own employees for water testing because their “commitment” to the city would provide consistent results.
Water department employees
tested their own homes
The Guardian obtained names and addresses for 58 residents whose homes were tested for lead levels between 2003 and 2015. At least 16 are the homes of current or former Chicago Water Department employees. A further 24 belong to other current or retired municipal employees. The remaining 18 residents were not employed by the city, or the Guardian was unable to determine their employer.
Even under these conditions, troubling results have emerged. An Environmental Protection Agency investigation in 2011 and 2012 found that lead levels in Chicago were significantly underestimated, with some homes experiencing “high lead levels for years”.
Across Illinois, water authorities have exceeded the federal safe limit on lead at least once a year since 2004. The city of Galesburg, located 150 miles south-west of Chicago, recently received a $4m federal loan to replace thousands of lead service lines after testing found it to have one of the most persistently egregious lead problems in the country.
Elevated lead levels from paint and water have previously been estimated in three-quarters of Chicago’s elementary schoolchildren, posing a risk to the children’s learning, development and according to some studies, even future proclivity to commit crime.
The National Bureau of Economic Research has found a “robust relationship between lead exposure in childhood and violent crimes later in life”. A 2002 study by pioneering lead researcher Herbert Needleman found an association between blood lead levels and a juvenile delinquency.
The famous “Cincinnati Lead Study” followed more than 250 children from birth through young adulthood and found those with increased blood lead levels had higher rates of arrest. Commenting on the research, Harvard professor of neurology David C Bellinger called lead exposure “a national disgrace”.
Burdened by an ageing, potentially harmful, infrastructure, Chicago has responded with hyperactivity. Tom Powers, who resigned as water commissioner in April, oversaw the replacement of 320 miles of water mains and 77 miles of sewers in his five years in the job. But this work has potentially stirred up the lead it has hoped to eliminate.
Construction work to repair pipes or install water meters has dislodged lead that has ended up in the drinking water of “tens of thousands” of Chicago residents, according to a law firm overseeing a class-action lawsuit against the city. Beth Fegan, an attorney at Hagens Berman says …
“It has caused a lot of worry, distress and cost. Folks are
having to buy bottled water and have filters installed
into their homes. A lot of people are using bottled
water which is an economic strain for low-
income homes and isn’t a long-term fix.
“These people need medical testing to
see if they have elevated lead levels and the city
should help bear the burden in replacing the lead pipes.”
But flawed testing practices mean that high lead levels may not be properly picked up anyway, according to Virginia Tech scientist Marc Edwards, who is credited with uncovering the extent of the problems in Flint. Edwards said …
“If I lived in one of the Chicago homes with a lead
pipe under no circumstances would l let
my child be drinking the water.”
The fear of lead-poisoned children is playing on the mind of Troy Hernandez, a 34-year-old resident of Pilsen, a Chicago suburb that is home to many people of Mexican background and is now gentrifying. Hernandez has taken to knocking on the doors of his neighbors to discuss the threat of lead in water and even held a public lecture with Miguel del Toral, a Chicago resident and EPA whistleblower who warned of the crisis in Flint. Hernandez says …
“People have seen how the city cuts corners and how me-
dia savvy Rahm [Emanuel, the mayor] is. It seems
like the city is playing media games and not
actually addressing the issue head on.
They are doing the bare minimum.”
Hernandez is pondering the purchase of a house in Pilsen that has a dirt floor, meaning it will be cheaper to carve out the lead water pipe and replace it. He’s planning to start a family and can’t bear the idea of his children imbibing lead-laced water. He says …
“It would be negligent to not replace the pipes now
when I have exposed floor. I don’t want that to
be in the back of my mind for the next 20 years
so I’m going to add the cost of it into the loan.
“I expect more and more people will have this
issue. And yet it’s not really talked about.
I suppose it is somewhat unbelievable
that in 2016 in the United States
it’s dangerous to drink the water.”
• • • • • • • •
Generically, the problem is: infrastructure replacement is not a sexy issue on which a politician can build a campaign. A new highway or bridge is visible; replacing an underground pipe is not. The same holds true for preventive maintenance of public buildings – such as roof replacements; nothing is often done until there’s actually a leak – which is normally a more expensive approach than preventive maintenance.
However, in this case, public health is an issue … a more vital concern than grid lock.
How to correct this kind of problem?
Move the problem down to those directly affected by the problem. If there’s no way you’d let members of your family drink water from lead pipes, then the decision needs to be pushed down to the personal level. Politicians have to deal with the media; we just take actions that give our families the best health possible … regardless of what the media might say or not say.
- If your energy bill is too high, you’ll take appropriate steps to reduce that expenditure.
- If your electrical power has intermittent failures, you’ll take steps to make your power supply more reliable.
- If your air conditioning goes out, you’ll quickly be on the phone with your repair man.
The time it takes for a third party – such as an elected official or bureaucrat – to act feels as though it’s a Millennium. So … if you even suspect that your water may be tainted, phone a water testing service, immediately. That will tell you whether or not you really do have a problem. The testing company can often suggest the best remedy, as well.
If you’re in an established neighborhood, and if your government isn’t running tests on your water, perhaps you can form an effort with a neighbor. Sharing the test costs can be helpful, as your water is likely just as good or just as tainted as your neighbor’s. And if corrections are needed and your government isn’t forthcoming with remedial action, you can take action yourself.
It is possible to use your tainted water as “non-potable,” and either buy bottled spring water or install a filter at your kitchen sink that removes all harmful chemicals cited in your test. In developing our Garden Atrium sustainable homes, I’ve found water people to be really smart about how to correct water problems.
I’m also not advocating “coming down on all politicians.” If you were elected mayor of a community and inherited a huge problem – one that’s been growing for decades and that’s way outside your budget to correct – you’d be in the same bind. Rather than blaming someone … fix the problem.
