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Tests for cities, rural subdivisions and even schools and day cares serving water to 6 million people have found excessive and harmful levels of lead.

Alison Young and

Mark Nichols, USA TODAY

Published 5:34 p.m. ET March 11, 2016 | Updated 2:45 p.m. ET March 27, 2017


The water systems,Â which reported lead levels exceeding Environmental Protection AgencyÂ standards, collectively supply water to 6 million people. About 350 of those systems provide drinking water to schools or day cares. The USA TODAY NETWORK investigation also found at least 180 of theÂ water systems failed to notify consumers about the high lead levelsÂ as federal rules require.

Many of the highest reported lead levelsÂ were found at schools and day cares. A water sample at a Maine elementary school was 42 times higher than the EPA limit of 15 parts per billion, while a Pennsylvania preschool was 14 times higher, records show.Â At an elementary school in Ithaca, N.Y., one sample tested this year at a stunning 5,000 ppb of lead, the EPAâs threshold for âhazardous waste.â 

In all, the USA TODAY NETWORK analysis of EPA enforcement dataÂ identified 600 water systems in which tests at some taps showedÂ lead levels toppingÂ 40 parts per billion (ppb), which is more than double the EPA's action level limit. While experts caution Flint is an extreme case of pervasive contamination, those lead levels rival the 400-plus of the worst samples in farÂ more extensive testing of around 15,000 taps acrossÂ Flint.Â The 40 ppb mark also stands as a threshold that the EPA once labeled on its website an âimminentâ health threat for pregnant women and young children. 

Fractured system, limited testing

Most Americans get their drinking water from a fragmented network of about 155,000 different water systems serving everything from big cities to individual businesses and school buildings. The EPA determines that a system has exceeded the lead standardÂ when more than 10% of samples taken show lead levels above 15 parts per billion. It's called an "action level" because, at that level, water systems are required to take action to reduce contamination.Â But enforcement, which is implemented state by state, can be inconsistent and spotty. Some 373 systems have failed repeatedly, with tests continuing to find excessive lead in tests months or even years later, the EPA data shows. Whatâs more, the systems have widely varying levels of financial resources and staff training.

Amid cotton fields in Lamesa, Texas, for example, tests last year showed lead contamination more than seven times the EPA limit at Klondike Independent School District, which serves 260 students in a single K-12 building. "Some things just slip by," said the school superintendent Steve McLaren when pressed about skipping a round of testing in 2014.Â In a tiny school system, McLaren said leaders "wear a lot of hats." At times he's served as principal and bus driver, in addition to being superintendent and in charge of the drinking water system. The school replaced drinking fountains, and plans to replace its entire water system next fall. McLaren said heâs concerned about how high lead levels might affect students and understands the need for action. But he said, "Our kids are strapping and healthy, and they've been drinking this water all their lives."

“You would hope that the cities and the counties and the state and the federal government would be holding peopleâs feet to the fire when it comes to providing quality water to the consumer if there is an issue.”

Terry Heckman, a board member at the Arizona Water Quality Association

The testing required by the government can include samples from as few as five or 10 taps in a year, or even over multiple years. The system is designed only to give an indication of whether homes or buildings with lead pipes and plumbing may be at higher risk of lead leaching into water. Even the biggest water systems in cities are required to test just 50 to 100 taps.

The limited and inconsistent testing means the full scope of the lead contamination problem could be even more widespread. People in thousands more communities served by water systems that have been deemed in compliance with the EPA's lead rules have no assurance their drinking water is safe from the brain-damaging toxin.

âThis is just a case where we have a rule thatâs not been adequately protective,â said Lynn Goldman, a former EPA official and dean of George Washington Universityâs school of public health. "The entire design of the regulation doesn't tell you about your own water."

Drinking water typically isnât contaminated with lead when it leaves the treatment plant. It becomes contaminated as it travels through lead service lines on individual properties and lead plumbing fixtures inside homes. At best, the EPA's rules and testing are a sentinel system, alerting officials of the need to treat their water with anti-corrosion chemicals. Doing so reduces, but does not eliminate, the lead in water reaching the tap. How much lead in water poses an imminent threat?

There are about 75 million homes across the country built before 1980, meaning theyâre most likely to contain some lead plumbing. That's more than half of the countryâs housing units, according to the Census Bureau. The heaviest concentrations are in New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

âYou would hope that the cities and the counties and the state and the federal government would be holding peopleâs feet to the fire when it comes to providing quality water to the consumer if there is an issue,â said Terry Heckman, a board member at the Arizona Water Quality Association, a group that represents water systems. âThatâs what the government is supposed to do, is look over the general welfare of the populace.â

Flint's risk factors not rare

Experts say what happened in Flint is an extreme case and helps show how the limited testing required by the EPA provides only a crude indicator of systems where harmful levels of lead may be in water at homes with lead pipes.

The struggling city of about 100,000 people passed the governmentâs required lead tests. But one residentâs vocal complaints spurred extra tests at her home, revealing shocking levels of lead contamination: 104 to 13,200 ppb. The crisis worsened as independent researchers tested 300 samples across the city, revealing homes with high lead levels that the government-mandated tests missed. More than 10% contained at least 27 ppb of lead. Since then, regulators conducted another 15,000 tests. More than 1,000 samples show lead above the 15 ppb limit, and more than 400 show dangerous levels above 40 ppb.

One unique factor in Flint: the water department changed to a corrosive river water source, then failed to treat it with anti-corrosion chemicals. The result: a pervasive contamination problem as the insides of old lead pipes broke down and released a torrent of poison.

Yet the fundamental risk factor in Flint â old lead service lines that deliver water to homes, plus interior plumbing containing lead â is a common problem for tens of millions of homes mostly built before 1986. Unlike other contaminants that can be filtered out at the water plant, lead usually gets into drinking water at the end of the system, as it comes onto individual properties and into homes.

At greatest risk, experts say, are an estimated 7.3 million homes connected to their utility's water mains by individual lead service lines -- the pipe carrying water from the main under the street onto your property and into your home. The water passes through what amounts to âa pure lead straw,â said Marc Edwards, a Virginia Tech environmental engineering professor who has studied water contamination in Flint and a similar, earlier crisis in Washington, D.C.

Lead service lines were mostly installed before the 1930s, although some communities continued to lay lead pipes for decades longer.

The way tap water becomes contaminated â at or even inside individual homes â poses a vexing problem for regulators, utilities and consumers. A home with a lead service line and older internal plumbing may have high levels of lead in its tap water. But a nearby, newly constructed home may have no lead contamination. The only way to know if your house is at risk is to find out about its water line and plumbing.

âPeople are legitimately concerned about what theyâre hearing in the wake of Flint,â said Lynn Thorp, of the advocacy group Clean Water Action, who recently served on a federal work-group on lead in drinking water. âAs long as we have lead in contact with drinking water, we can have exposure at the tap.â

Thorp said consumers need to become educated about any risks at their individual homes.

What is government doing?

Under the EPA's Lead and Copper Rule, implemented in 1991, the government's approach for protecting people from lead in drinking water has relied heavily on water systems monitoring for indications that their water has become more corrosive. The more corrosive the water, the more lead will be drawn out of pipes. Treatment of water with anti-corrosion chemicals can only reduce, not eliminate, lead from leaching into tap water in invisible and tasteless doses.

Thatâs why the EPA's National Drinking Water Advisory Council wrote agency leaders in December calling for removing lead service lines "to the greatest degree possible." It's a daunting recommendation since in most cases, the water utility owns part of the line and the rest belongs to the homeowner. A credit ratings firm warned this month that replacing lead service lines could cost tens of billions of dollars.

"We're now dealing with a legacy issue on private property distributed throughout many communities," said Tracy Mehan, the American Water Works Association's executive director of government affairs. The cost to replace each service line can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars.

Meanwhile, the EPA advisory council, whose members include experts from water utilities and state agencies, recommended that EPA take numerous steps to strengthen the existing regulation. They include developing a "household action level" that would trigger public health actions when lead contamination reaches certain levels and ensuring the public receives more information about the risks they face.

In addition, state water regulators say, federal officials need to tell water utilities what level of lead contamination indicates an acute health risk that should trigger a "do not drink" alert to all of the systems' customers. The EPA is evaluating the recommendations and expects to propose revisions to its lead contamination regulations in 2017.

"We really recognize there's a need to strengthen the rule," Joel Beauvais, deputy assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Water, said in an interview.

While he characterized Flint as an outlier, he said, "Thereâs no question we have challenges with lead in drinking water across the country. Millions of lead service lines in thousands of systems.â

Changing the rules could take at least a year. Beauvais said the EPA is working now to make sure states fully enforce existing rules. The agency last month sent letters to governors and state regulators calling for greater attention to drinking water oversight. While federal rules are made by the EPA, they're enforced by the states.

Because of Flint, some utilities and state water regulators said they were already taking a closer look at water systems where testing identified excessive lead.

âIt has caused a sort of shock wave through the drinking water industry generally,â said Jim Taft, executive director of the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators. States are looking at water systemsâ performance and oversight, he said, âto make sure weâre not missing something.â 

High lead in systems large, small

AtÂ a trailer home at the Maple Ridge Mobile Home Park in Corinna, Maine, Christi Woodruff recalls the notice hung on her door last year alerting her to potential lead contamination in the neighborhood. Christi Woodruff of Corinna, Maine, doesn't know whether her trailer's water has lead problems but says she's drinking bottled water anyway because of a notice delivered several weeks ago to residents of her trailer park.
(Photo: Andrew West, USA TODAY NETWORK)

A mom with an 8-year-old daughter, Woodruff initially planned to get her water tested. But, she shrugged it off after the park's landlord told her testing was unnecessary. "The manager said not to worry because it was only certain trailers ... He didn't think my trailer was one of them," she said.

Property manager Randy Dixon blamed tap water from a single old trailer with lead-soldered copper pipes for causing the park's water to fail the EPA's testing. He then told a USA TODAY NETWORK reporter to stop interviewing residents.

The analysis of EPA's data show the Maine park is among almost 2,000Â water systems flagged for having an "action level exceedance" for lead during 2012 through 2015. That generally means more than 10% of tap water samples taken during a testing period showed lead contamination above 15 ppb.

If you're living in a home with a lead service line and received a notice about possible lead contamination, "it's a good idea to get your water tested," said Beauvais, the EPA water office official.

Most of the water systems that failed the EPA's lead standard serve anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand people each, often running their lines to homes in rural communities, or managing water for individual schools or businesses in remote areas.

In Lake Mills, Wisc., about 50 miles west of Milwaukee, EPA records show the utility serving water to 5,300 people failed lead tests in 2013, 2014 and again in 2015 with some readings several times the federal limit.

Paul Hermanson, director of Public Works, said Lake Mills sent fliers with water bills since 2010 urging residents in older homes to run their water 15 to 30 seconds before using it. The idea behind not using the first water out of the tap is to avoid drinking water that's been touching the old pipes and has the greatest risk of containing lead. âI donât know that thereâs a good solution to it other than running the water,â he said.

Some of the older homes in the growing bedroom community of Firestone, Colo., about 30 miles north of Denver, tested for excessive lead four times since 2014, records show. Town officials said they have repeatedly notified their 9,500 water customers of potentially harmful lead levels and distributed information explaining how to reduce risk. âThe fact that they havenât fixed this, thatâs annoying,â said resident Heath Gaston.

The USA TODAY NETWORK analysis showed three of every four water systems that exceeded the lead standard from 2012 to 2015 served 500 people or less. They often lack the resources and staff expertise of larger systems. "Some of these small systems don't even have a full-time operator," said Taft, of the state water regulators association. They may rely on one person, responsible for several systems, he said. In the case of schools, the same staff that does building maintenance may be managing the water system.

But nearly 70 of the systems with excessive lead findings during the past four years each provide water to at least 10,000 people. They include:

Passaic Valley Water Commission, New Jersey: More than 315,000 people are served by the water system in the industrialized area of northern New Jersey with a history of other pollution crises. It failed to meet EPAâs lead standards during two testing periods last year and one in 2012. Commission officials said a $135 million construction project is underway to improve corrosion control. The utility officials also are publicly encouraging more people to participate in its lead-testing program.

New Bedford, Mass.: This municipal water system, which serves about 95,000 in a seaport city about an hour south of Boston, has been cited for excessive lead in 2014 and early 2015, EPA data show. Ron Labelle, the cityâs public infrastructure commissioner, said the areaâs housing is among the oldest in the Northeast and some still have lead service lines. A consultant has helped improve the systemâs anti-corrosion treatments, he said, and the city passed its most recent testing in December. Additional testing will be done this spring.

Bangor Water District, Maine: More than 28,000 people receive water from this system, which exceeded EPAâs lead standards three times in 2012 and 2013. Operators tweaked chemicals used in its corrosion control program, and have been in compliance since. Mike Henry Sr. holds his grandson Kaiden Olivares while a blood sample is drawn to test for lead at the Masonic Temple in downtown Flint, Mich., on Jan. 23, 2016. "I'm upset I had to do that to him," said Henry Sr., who moved with his family outside of the city to Grand Blanc. "My grandson has had rashes. He's been in the hospital. We have a concern now about the hospital's water. My daughter has hair loss in the past that we've had no clue. We're just trying to find out if maybe that's it. Our whole family resides in Flint. We've ate in Flint. We've drank water in Flint. We've been in Flint restaurants so we have high concern."(Photo: Ryan Garza, USA TODAY NETWORK) Sandra Porter, the cook and water operator at Ozark Action Head Start in Ava, Mo. pours a gallon of bottled water into a bowl while she cooks for the school's children. The Head Start has a well on its property, but the school doesn't use it because samples from faucets have shown high lead levels.(Photo: Guillermo Hernandez Martinez, USA TODAY NETWORK) Jaryn Wilson, 16, practices basketball in front of an old home in Auburn, Maine. The city was flagged in 2015 for elevated lead levels in the drinking water.(Photo: Andrew West, USA TODAY NETWORK) Volunteers load cases of free water into waiting vehicles at a water distribution center in Flint, Mich., on March 5, 2016. Flint changed its water source in April 2014 from treated water sourced from Lake Huron as well as the Detroit River to the Flint River, but city officials allegedly failed to treat with corrosion control. The failure had a series of problems that culminated with lead contamination from aging pipes.(Photo: Geoff Robins, AFP/Getty Images) Director of Safety Rick Donnelly with B.J. Baldwin Electric Inc. in Narvon, Pa., shows the latest test results warning of high levels of lead and radium in the water.(Photo: Suchat Pederson, USA TODAY NETWORK) A pedestrian crosses the street in downtown Lancaster, Pa. Across Lancaster County,17 water systemshave found high lead levels indrinking water27 timesbetween 2012 and 2015, according toEPAdata.(Photo: Suchat Pederson, USA TODAY NETWORK) Covenant Heights Camp and Retreat Center is near Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. This camp has renovated pipes in this staff cabin after the discovery of higher than normal lead content in the drinking water supply.(Photo: Austin Humphreys, USA TODAY NETWORK) Paul Bryant stands in the doorway of his old town Firestone home. Bryant, who has been slowly renovating the home since he bought it five years ago, says he's used only plastic pipes in the 96-year-old house, but isn't sure what kind of line connects the house to the town's water supply. He says he drinks mostly bottled water anyway, and doesn't worry about possible lead in the water. "My grandmother used to bathe in radon and she lived to be 100," he said with a laugh.(Photo: Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY NETWORK) Willie Williams, plant operator for the water authority, blames homeowners for not replacing old plumbing..(Photo: Shane Bevel for USA TODAY) Water samples taken in August and again in January at Caroline Elementary School in the Ithaca City School District came back with high lead results.(Photo: Romain Blanquart, USA TODAY NETWORK) Sardis Lake, is the source of water for the Sardis Lake Water Authority in Oklahoma. "The water that we have coming out of the lake does not have lead in it," said Willie Williams, plant operator for the Sardis Lake Water Authority. They have some houses in their system that have bad plumbing.(Photo: Shane Bevel, USA TODAY NETWORK) Lee Anne Walters of Flint, Mich., pours gallons of bottled water into a bucket and pan to warm up for her twin sons to take a weekly bath. Her son, Gavin, 4, looking on, has been diagnosed with lead poisoning. "I was hysterical," said Walters said. "I cried when they gave me my first lead report because the thought was 'Oh my God, my kids.' I'm one of those mom's that I watch what my kids eat. I make sure they get enough fruits and vegetables. All of my kids are avid water drinkers." (Photo: Ryan Garza, USA TODAY NETWORK) Nicole Rich helps her children Jamison Rich, 7, left and Jersey, 9, do their homework in Ithaca, N.Y. The two siblings attend Caroline Elementary School in the Ithaca City School District where water samples came back with high lead results when tested last August and January. On Feb. 24, 2016, the Ithaca City School District released data from 2005 showing that drinking water throughout the school district could have exceeded EPA limits for lead during the past 11 years. Jamison Rich tested positive for lead.(Photo: Romain Blanquart, USA TODAY NETWORK) Nancy Beliveau, a resident of a more than 100-year old home in Auburn, Maine, shows the plumbing in her basement. Beliveau said she received an elevated lead notice in the mail but ignored it because she was under the impression it didn't affect her street.(Photo: Andrew West, USA TODAY NETWORK) Melissa Hoffman expresses concerns at a public meeting in Ithaca, N.Y., about high lead levels found at her children's school, Caroline Elementary School.(Photo: Romain Blanquart, USA TODAY NETWORK) Melissa Hoffman and her daughters, Sareanda Baker, 6, right and Asyra Baker, 10, at the Foundation of Light center in Dryden, N.Y. The two girls attend Caroline Elementary School in the Ithaca City School District where water samples show high lead levels.(Photo: Romain Blanquart, USA TODAY NETWORK) "I wonder how it's affected my kids," said Lindsey Cox of Greentown, Ind., who has 3- and 10-year-old daughters. The family stopped using tap water for everything except showers and toilets after the town-operated utility discovered high-lead levels last year. Cox, the night manager at Heartland Market, has switched to using bottled water.(Photo: Robert Scheer, USA TODAY NETWORK) Lake Auburn is the water source in Aururn Maine and is so clean it doesn't require a filtration system, a claim few Maine water sources can make. "The lead problem comes from the delivery system. We can't control the plumbing in people's homes," says Sid Hazelton, the superintendent for the water district.(Photo: Andrew West, USA TODAY NETWORK) Kysten Gabri keeps her bottled water near as she shapes peanut butter protein balls in Auburn, Maine, where water samples from faucets have shown elevated levels of lead.(Photo: Andrew West, USA TODAY NETWORK) Christi Woodruff moved her trailer in June to Maple Ridge outside of Corinna, Maine. The property manager left a notice on her door about the lead contamination. Woodruff says when she made plans to get her water tested, her landlord said it was unnecessary. "The manager said not to worry because it was only certain trailers. He didn't think my trailer was one of them," she said.(Photo: Andrew West, USA TODAY NETWORK) Rows of water jugs are stacked at B.J. Baldwin Electric in Narvon, Pa. Jugs of water are placed throughout the business for employees who can't drink the tap water because of various contaminants.(Photo: Suchat Pederson, USA TODAY NETWORK) B.J. Baldwin Electric employees are told on their first day of work to not drink the water.(Photo: Suchat Pederson, USA TODAY NETWORK) Pedestrians cross the street in Lancaster, Pa., which has taken a proactive approach to removing most of their lead pipes in their system.(Photo: Suchat Pederson, USA TODAY NETWORK)


Failure to notify people

When testing does reveal high lead levels, the USA TODAY NETWORK found many people were not warned as required. Of the 180 cited for failing to notify the public, almost half were cited more than once, records show.

In Ohio, in the past year, seven water systems serving a combined 8,800 customers failed to notify residents of potential lead contamination within 60 days as required.

Tests found excessive lead last summer at homes in the village of Sebring. The water system didnât alert customers until January, after Flint started making national headlines. The Ohio EPA placed two employees on leave while investigating. State records show six other Ohio water systems also did not provide timely warnings to residents after failing lead tests. The systems supply water to mobile home parks, a subdivision, an arboretum and a church and its day care.

In Arizona, several water systems that found unsafe amounts of lead in drinking water samples taken several years ago failed to act until February, after the USA TODAY NETWORK began requesting data about lead levels in drinking water.

The principal at a boarding school near the Navajo Reservation was unaware until February that water from a faucet in a church at the property tested high for lead in 2013. Operators of a small water utility near the Mexico border and a small community system in eastern Arizona both had high lead test results in 2013. One said he didnât know any action was needed. The other conceded the lack of action was an oversight.

Misael Cabrera, director Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, acknowledged lapses in following up with some water systems. Cabrera said heâs since asked all water providers for high lead levels to notify their customers. His department also is creating a system to better track compliance.

Without action, issues fester

Without strong action by regulators, problems can fester, especially in small systems with limited resources.

In southeastern Oklahomaâs Latimer County, a rural water system serving about 1,500 people has had excessive lead levels during seven testing periods since 2013, EPA data show. The Latimer County Rural Water District #2 failed more tests in the past three years than any water system in the country. Willie Williams, plant operator for the Sardis Lake Water Authority in Clayton, Okla., said water that comes from his plant has no detectable lead.
(Photo: Shane Bevel, USA TODAY)

Little has been done to fix the problem. The Latimer #2 district points its finger at its water supplier, and the supplier blames homeowners for not replacing bad plumbing.

âThereâs nothing we can do,â said Linda Petty, office manager for the Latimer #2 district, which doesnât treat its own water. Latimer buys its water from the nearby Sardis Lake Water Authority. âWeâre at their mercy,â she said.

âThe water that we have coming out of the lake does not have lead in it,â said Willie Williams, the Sardis Lake systemâs operator. âThey have some houses in their system that have horrendous plumbing. Thereâs not a single thing Latimer #2 can do about it and not a single thing I can do about it.â

Customers received notices of the lead issue in their bills, the water system and residents said. County officials say they have not gotten calls from concerned residents.

âI havenât heard anybody saying anything about it,â said John Medders, a county commissioner whose home is on the system. He recalled getting a notice in the fall. âMost of the time I just throw mine in the trash. I donât pay much mind to it.â

Water regulators at the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality said they now plan to meet with both water systems and send state engineers to Latimer and 18 other water systems that donât comply with lead-contamination limits.

âThe Flint, Michigan, situation has really opened our eyes to whatâs going on,â said Patty Thompson, engineering manager for the departmentâs public water supply group.

Contributing: Mark Alesia, The Indianapolis Star;Â Jessie Balmert,Â The (Newark, Ohio) Advocate;Â Patricia Borns,Â The (Fort Myers, Fla.) News-Press;Â Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY; Eric Litke,Â USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin;Â Jacy Marmaduke, Fort Collins Coloradoan;Â Caitlin McGlade, The Arizona Republic; Marty Schladen, The El Paso Times; Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press; Laura Ungar, USA TODAY;Â Jim Waymer, Florida Today; âand Russell Zimmer,Â Asbury Park (N.J.) Press.

Follow Alison Young and Mark Nichols on Twitter:Â @alisonannyoungÂ andÂ @nicholsmarkc
 

'What is government doing?'
Lead in systems large, small
'Failure to notify people'

 

Tests in cities, rural subdivisions and even schools and day cares serving water to 6 million people have found excessive and harmful levels of lead, with several hundred failing EPA-required tests repeatedly.

