Warren another example of lack of notification of lead in water, Ryan says

SEBRING

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, while attending an announcement Monday regarding federal funding to help solve problems with lead in drinking water in Sebring, also commented on a similar problem in Warren in 2008 – another instance of the public not being informed of high lead levels quickly.

In Warren, city officials failed to send notices to its 20,000 customers by a Nov. 29, 2009, deadline. The notices were supposed to “educate” them about lead hazards after 12 residential water tests out of 90 had lead at unacceptable levels.

Because the city failed to send the notices, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency issued a notice of violation to the city in January 2010.

Like in Sebring, the OEPA was not able to correct the failure to notify for weeks or months. An OEPA spokeswoman says she doesn’t know how many months it was in Warren’s case.

The city sent the notices with water bills in March 2010 in the city’s annual Consumer Confidence Report, though most Warren water customers apparently never read or understood the meaning of the notification.

Several people who were Warren council members in 2010, plus the utilities director at the time and then-Mayor Michael O’Brien all told The Vindicator last week even they didn’t know Warren’s water had high lead levels.

Read more about the matter in Tuesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.