Procurement News Notice |
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| PNN | 10283 |
| Work Detail | About three percent of drinking water fixtures in buildings owned or leased by the city, contained lead above the federal action level, prompting officials to shut down over two dozen water fountains and sinks, a city spokesman said Friday. The spokesman, Craig T. Fifer, said an environmental company took samples from all 841 water fountains, water dispensers, ice machines and sink faucets in the relevant properties. The testing revealed that 25 samples had levels above 15 parts per billion. “We immediately took them out of service,” Fifer said of the 25 fountains and sinks, where were in 10 city facilities. “We put a bag over them or removed them – we didn’t allow anybody to use them until we got to the bottom of the situation for that individual fixture. “In most of the cases, it meant replacing the fixture — there were some cases in which there could be a part repaired.” Fifer said the city began its testing in July and said the effort was prompted by news reports concerning high lead levels found in drinking water in Flint, Mich. He said the city sinks and fountains officials shutdown were primarily used by employees or people being held by the sheriff’s office. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s action level for lead in drinking water is anything greater than 15 parts per billion. In Alexandria, water from the faucet of a small metal sink at The Lyceum, city’s history museum, had 563 parts per billion. Also a sink stall at the American Legion Hall on Cameron Street, which uses space in a city facility, had 267 parts per billion and a water fountain in a cell at the Sheriff’s Department that was tested had 238 parts per billion. Fifer said the replacements and fixes are underway. He said officials will retest all 25 fixtures and plan to kick off an on-going monitoring system for drinking water at Alexandria’s 250 buildings and 29 parks. He also said the city’s drinking water supply is safe. Alexandria’s drinking water is supplied by Virginia American Water. Samantha Villegas, a spokeswoman for the utility company, said the lead found in the drinking water comes from pipes and fixtures that contain lead. “It’s a plumbing issue – it’s a greater risk for buildings and homes that were built prior to 1986,” she said. “We applaud the steps the city is taking – the city is doing the right thing.” Fifer said Alexandria is offering free blood tests for all employees. Marc Edwards, an environmental engineering professor from Virginia Tech, said he wanted to reserve judgment on Alexandria’s effort until he could more closely examine the methodology used by testers. “The results look pretty good,” said Edwards of city’s drinking water testing report. “There’s some problems and it looks like they’re getting fixed, and that’s how we have to proceed as a society.” |
| Country | United States , Northern America |
| Industry | Water & Sanitation |
| Entry Date | 15 Oct 2016 |
| Source | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/alexandria-finds-lead-in-drinking-water-at-25-city-fountains-and-sinks/2016/09/09/a7608ad0-76d4-11e6-b786-19d0cb1ed06c_story.html |
