What s On Tap? Lets talk about Your Drinking Water Cynthia Klevens, P.E. NHDES Drinking Water & Groundwater Nashua NH, November 1, 2017

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1 What s On Tap? Lets talk about Your Drinking Water Cynthia Klevens, P.E. NHDES Drinking Water & Groundwater Nashua NH, November 1, 2017 Cynthia.Klevens@des.nh.gov

2 1. Flint, Michigan 2. Lead and public water systems 3. Lead and private wells 4. Lead and Children 5. Testing your tap water 6. Treating your tap water 7. Questions

3 1. FLINT AFTER 20 / 20 HINDSIGHT

4 SEQUENCE OF MISTAKES Switch from Lake Huron to Flint River **Stopped Orthophosphate feed** **Higher chloride in River vs. Lake water** E.coli and Legionella bacteria => increased chlorine Higher Chlorine => exceed Chlorination Byproducts Change to Ferric Chloride coagulant => more corrosion Iron corrosion => Brown water complaints Brown water => Iron, LEAD, Bacteria

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6 SO WHAT ARE THE LESSONS FROM FLINT? WHO MAKES THESE DECISIONS?

7 Ripple Effects of Childhood Lead Poisoning Source: LeadSafe Illinois at Loyola University Chicago Civitas ChildLaw Center and Policy Institute

8 2. Your Water Source: Private Well or Public Water?

9 Where does lead in drinking water come from? Lead service line or lead gooseneck Many faucets and fittings up to Jan 2014 Lead plumbing Dull gray Shiny when scratched Non-magnetic (galvanized steel pipes are dull when scraped and a magnet will stick to them.)

10 Copper pipes connected with lead solder installed prior to 1987 Allowable lead content in solder was reduced from 50% to 0.2% in 1986 Sediment Copper pipes joined by lead solder Source: EPA Fact Sheet How to Identify Lead Free Certification Marks for Drinking Water System & Plumbing Products Faucets or brass fittings that contain some lead Fixtures purchased before January 4, 2014 may contain up to 8% lead content LOOK FOR Lead Free Certification Mark indicating that the fixture meets the lead free requirement or contact the manufacturer to confirm the lead content

11 How does lead get into drinking water? Plumbing components can leach lead into water when: Water is aggressive - high acidity or low mineral content Corrosion control that is intended to build up a protective coating inside the pipe is ineffective There is disturbance of the plumbing Photo Source: Michigan Radio

12 LEAD AND PUBLIC WATER SUPPLIES ~ 730 Community water systems in New Hampshire 75% serve 250 people or less Regulated under the SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT Tested regularly for hundreds of parameters including LEAD State inspection every 3 years

13 PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM TESTING - Bacteria - Nitrate / Nitrite - Inorganic chemicals including metals - Stagnant Lead and Copper - Volatile Organic Chemicals - Semi-volatile Organics - Radionuclides - Disinfection Byproducts

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15 Lead Regulations under the Safe Drinking Water Act Banned lead in solder and fixtures (1985 & 2011) Lead and Copper Rule Testing and Treatment (NH ) TREATMENT STANDARD, NOT HEALTH-BASED Also, compliance is based on 90% of samples - not 100%

16 Shorter Timeframes for Notification Transparency with sample results and location of lead services Focus on Kids Household Action Level Schools and Daycares Sampling in the Right Places FUTURE RULE RECOMMENDATIONS

17 NO RISK OF LEAD IN DRINKING WATER =

18 POSSIBLE LEAD COMPONENTS: - GOOSENECK - PRIVATE SERVICE LINE

19 PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS Problems with Lead and Copper Rule Unclear if sampling where the lead is

20 - EVERY HOME IS NOT TESTED - WHAT IS A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLING LOCATION

21 3. Lead and Private wells

22 PRIVATE WELL

23 NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIVATE WELLS Serve 46% of residents or ~ 520,000 people Have no uniform testing or treatment requirements Are not regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act

24 Water contaminants can be both naturally occurring and/or human caused

25 Common Contaminants in New Hampshire Well Water PARAMETER Percent of Private Well samples above Health Standard Arsenic > 10 µg/l 20% (1 in 5) Bacteria Present 19% (1 in 5) >= 15 µg/l 70% detects 15% exceeding >= 15 µg/l 2% exceeding Nitrate >= 10 mg/l 0.3% Radon** > 2,000 pci/l 55% (1 in 2) Radon** > 10,000 pci/l 24% (1 in 4) Manganese > 0.05 mg/l 40% Lead Stagnant = first flush sample sitting overnight in home plumbing. Lead Flushed = samples after flushing tap for a few minutes. Source: NH DHHS Public Health Laboratory, 2016

26 HEALTH EFFECTS LEAD

27 Understanding LEAD MCL Goal is ZERO Flush your tap every morning whether you are on Town water or Private well water Test stagnant lead and copper to see if your water is corrosive Use alternate water for infants and children if lead is 5 ppb

28 Probability of Arsenic in New Hampshire Bedrock Wells Arsenic is naturally occurring in NH; so is: - Radon - Uranium - Fluoride

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30 HEALTH IMPACTS - ARSENIC Cancers (bladder, skin, kidney, liver, prostate and lung) Vascular and cardiovascular disease Reproductive and developmental effects Cognitive and neurological effects Diabetes and other metabolic disorders Neuropathy Hughes et al. (2011). Arsenic Exposure and Toxicology: A Historical Perspective Toxicological Sci 123(2):

31 HEALTH IMPACTS RADON (A IR A ND WA TER) 21,000 lung cancer deaths/year in U.S. 100 deaths/yr in NH Most of the risk from radon in water is from it s release to the air, such as in the shower.

32 SOME HUMAN-CAUSED CONTAMINANTS Petroleum components MtBE (13 ppb MCL) ~23% (1 in 4) with detectable levels in susceptible areas PFCs - 70 parts per trillion Health Advisory Sources include Teflon, Post-It and other adhesive paper, Cosmetics, Tyvek, Gore-Tex and other synthetic and stainresistant materials, fire-fighting foam, etc.

33 SECTION 4 Lead and Children

34 Collaboration between NHDES & DHHS Lead Poisoning Prevention Program Testing water in the homes of lead poisoned children when a child s blood lead level is 10 µg/dl New Lead in Drinking Water fact sheet:

35 LEAD OUTREACH & EDUCATION 2016 New website NHDES Lead in Drinking Water A to Z List L Lead in Drinking Water FAQs about Lead in Drinking Water Resources for : Schools and Child Care Programs Parents Homeowners Public Water Systems

36 Outreach to Schools and Child Care Centers Coordinated with DOE and DHHS Letter to all NH schools and licensed child care centers with recommendations to sample and follow 3Ts guidance 3Ts = Training, Testing, and Telling Identify potential sources Check for banned coolers Test every faucet used for drinking Correct elevated levels Communicate

37 Water Coolers 1988 Lead Contamination Control Act (LCCA) Required EPA to publish lists of drinking water coolers, by brand and model, that have leadlined tanks and that are not lead-free.

38 1. Develop a Plumbing Profile and Water Testing Plan Understand how water enters and flows through your building(s) Identify potential sources of lead in the plumbing Identify and prioritize sample sites 2. Test the Water Collect 250 ml first-draw samples (i.e., samples of stagnant water before any flushing or use occurs) from water fountains and other outlets used for consumption (drinking, cooking, ice making) Samples analysis should be performed by a laboratory accredited in NH for the analysis of lead in drinking water

39 3. Fix Problems Pinpoint the sources of lead contamination Follow-up flush sampling Eliminate particulate lead as a source clean aerators and screens Adopt control measures Routine - aerator cleaning maintenance schedule, use of cold water only for food and beverage prep, flushing Short-Term flushing, provide bottled water, disconnect/remove problem outlets Permanent replace problem components, install filters [must be certified by NSF under Standard 53 (Health Effects) for lead reduction], check electrical grounding, provide bottled water, disconnect/remove problem outlets 4. Communicate Make public all test results and identify all activities to correct the problems found.

40 SECTION 5 Testing Your Tap Water

41 WHAT TO TEST PRIVATE WELLS NHDES Standard Analysis Every 3-5 Years 14 parameters + Radon Stagnant and Flushed LEAD & COPPER Additional Tests - Volatile Organic Chemical (VOCs) - Gross Alpha Radioactivity - Arsenic Speciation - Semi-volatile Organic Chemicals (SOCs)

42 HOMEOWNER STAGNANT LEAD TESTING Home fixtures, old solder and lead service lines within private property can leach lead if: Water is aggressive Corrosion control is ineffective There is disturbance of the piping Applies to both private and public water supplies.

43 Where to test Accredited Testing Laboratories NHDES Private Well page

44 SECTION 6 Treatment: Be Well Informed Web Tool

45 NHDES BE WELL INFORMED GUIDE Compares lab results to water standards Identifies treatment options Provides information on health effects Considers multiple contaminants

46 User entry form is designed around the Standard Analysis

47 PRINTABLE REPORT: PART 1: RESULTS SUMMARY

48 PART 2: TREATMENT TRAIN

49 PART 3: INTERPRETATION, HEALTH, TREATMENT

50 Be Well Informed Treatment Recommendations Recommends appropriate treatment technologies, not products. Addresses treatment for common contaminants (Standard Analysis) Considers one or multiple contaminants at varying concentrations, and well owner feedback (e.g., staining, scaling, taste) Yields printable PDF reports Provides links and offers phone support from DES Homeowners may find the BWI link on their lab reports or on the website of their accredited lab, or search for NHDES Be Well Informed.

51 Dartmouth Private Well Survey (2014) 1 in 4 people who tested their well did not understand the results of their lab report. 1 in 3 did not know what actions to take given their water quality test results.

52 HOME WATER TREATMENT POINT OF USE (POU) Treats water at a single tap, examples: POU carbon filter -> <- POU Arsenic Contaminants treated at Point of Use include: Arsenic Uranium PFCs Lead particulates Fluoride Radium Chlorine (taste)

53 HOME WATER TREATMENT WHOLE-HOUSE Treats all the water entering the house, generally installed in the basement. Whole House treatment is necessary for: Radon Iron and Manganese Lead and Copper Corrosivity Odor - Sulfide Scaling - Hardness

54 Lou Barinelli, Wendy Locke, Tina Wells Gail Gettens, Beverly Drouin, Jessica Morton Laurie Rardin, Kathrin Lawlor Acknowledgements Christine Bowman, Amy Hudnor Amy Rousseau, Sarah Pillsbury

55 Questions