Warren Water Dept. making changes, utilities director said of lead issues

By Ed Runyan | February 3, 2016 at 12:11a.m.

WARREN

Franco Lucarelli, the city’s utilities director, has implemented a new procedure for helping Warren customers protect themselves from lead contamination in their water.

He also is formulating other ideas to better notify customers when high lead-level readings are found in city homes similar to what happened last summer.

“Looking back, in hindsight, we could have done more outside of the EPA guidelines,” he said during a news conference Tuesday at city hall that included Mayor Doug Franklin, the water department’s chemist and several council members.

The news conference came on the heels of a Sunday story in The Vindicator that revealed high lead-level readings from tests conducted last summer on the city’s east side.

Lucarelli has said the city followed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules and regulations given to them regarding notifications of lead in the water, which don’t require notification of neighbors when a high lead reading is found in a neighborhood.

But he said he and other city officials are discussing how to notify more people in the future, such as the people living nearby or on the same street, in addition to “following the guidelines of the EPA.”

His comments echo ones made Monday by Ohio EPA Director Craig Butler, who said he’s looking to institute policies at his agency that go beyond federal requirements.

One change Lucarelli already has made is to allow city water customers to get assistance over the phone or in person from the water department in identifying the type of service line they have running from the road.

That way, if it is lead, they will be aware of it and know whether they are at increased risk of having lead in their water, he said.

Customers should call the water department at 330-841-2531, Lucarelli said.

Franklin began the news conference by saying he wanted to “dispel any thoughts or concerns about the quality of Warren’s water,” saying, “Our water is safe and clean.”

But during routine testing from June 20 to July 2 last year of 30 homes throughout the city, two on Perkinswood Boulevard Southeast were found to be above the acceptable level set by federal rules of 15 parts per billion, The Vindicator learned through an investigation.

One had a reading of 64 ppb – more than four times the allowable level. Another one less than two blocks away had a reading of 18 ppb.

Lucarelli called news coverage of the tests “sensationalism” that failed to “educate the customers on what they can do to remedy [the situation] if they do have a lead service [line] coming into the home.”

But the city chose not to use last summer’s tests to alert homeowners in neighborhoods where those high test readings were found.

The Vindicator discovered the two readings were close to each through using an Ohio EPA website and finding a document listing the addresses tested and the results.

Last week, Lucarelli declined to give the addresses, though he did provide the two high-reading levels after several days of asking.

Lucarelli said the reason he didn’t provide that information more quickly is because he had concerns about identifying the people who volunteered to have their water tested. He said he’s still checking to see if that information can be released to the public.

Lucarelli said he thinks the best explanation of why one home had a reading of 64 ppb is because it has a lead service line. Also, a single male, who happens to be a water department employee, lives there and doesn’t run the water very much, he said.

Lead service lines and lead plumbing are among the chief reasons why lead readings are elevated in Warren water, according to a 2014 water-quality report issued by the city.

High lead levels have been linked to damage to the brain and kidneys in children. Because of concerns about it, lead-based paint was banned in 1977, and leaded gas was phased out in 1986.

Joe Greiner, who lives on Meadowbrook Avenue Southeast not far from Perkinswood, attended the news conference. He said he is having a water-testing kit sent to his house so he can take a sample and get a lead result in about 10 days.

“I’m concerned that [city officials] did follow the rules, but they didn’t do any follow-up, and there was a lack of effort to get the information out to the press,” he said after the conference.

“I have two young kids, so it’s important. I’m concerned,” he said.

Scott Zorik, who lives on Perkinswood, also attended the news conference and asked city officials several questions, including whether the city could test more than 30 homes the next time. He was told it is a cost issue.

He asked whether a lead service line at his neighbor’s house could affect his water, and city officials said the chances were “miniscule at best.”

Though the city isn’t required to test again for nearly three years, Lucarelli said no decision has been made as to whether it voluntarily will test sooner than that.