DC Water
http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2011-01-10/dc-water
DC Water hopes to cultivate a more visible image with a new name and logo. But the agency is facing some old issues, including lead in the city's drinking water and miles of century-old pipes. We speak with DC Water's general manager George Hawkins about water safety, service, and what customers can expect in future water bills.
Guests
George Hawkins
General Manager, D.C. Water and Sewer Authority; former head of the D.C. Department of the Environment
Comments
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Inserted with the most recent bill (Dec 2010) from DC Water (WASA) was a letter from George Hawkins that failed to address two sources of lead in DC Water:
DC Water agrees that the vast majority of their meters, which they rent to customers, are leaching lead. As of January 2010 they started installing only .25% or less lead meters when they would change out meters. There has been very little notice of this to the public and there appears to be no policy in place to change out the lead leaching meters in an expedited manner. (This policy change may have been in response to a relatively new DC law requiring lead content in faucets, fixtures and other items to be less than .25% lead).
The EPA maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) for lead and arsenic is zero. Suggestions by DC Water that only a little bit of lead is leaching from the meters is not a responsible answer and may be factually incorrect. If you happen to take a glass of water in the morning that has water in it that has been sitting in the meter all night or after work when the water has not been run all day there is the possibility that you will be getting a high amount of lead. There are studies that analyze this.
Mr. Hawkins should inform the public of this source of lead and change out the lead leaching meters as soon as possible.
In a similar light there is mention of the water being "essentially lead free" when it leaves the Washington Aqueduct and addition of orthophosphate by the Washington Aqueduct to reduce the amount of lead leaching (see the diagrams on back of the letter). What is lacking in Mr. Hawkin's letter is any discussion of the fact that lead and arsenic and other contaminants including radionuclides (which break down into lead in the body) are being added to the treated water and that he and Mr. Jacobus the head of the Aqueduct are aware of the presence of the lead and arsenic in the hydrofluorosilicic acid (HFSA, a waste byproduct of the fertilizer industry) that is bought by the Aqueduct and added to the water.
To my knowledge there is no request, legal or otherwise from DC Water or the City of Washington, D.C. for HFSA or any type of Fluoride product to be added to the treated water. In fact fluoride without contaminants is available for sale but Mr. Jacobus and the Aqueduct have chosen not to use it. In addition their are numerous studies showing how HFSA and silicofluorides cause lead and other metals to leach out of pipes and fixtures and how fluoride causes lead, aluminum and other metals to be absorbed by the body. In fact their are fluoride products available to clean up lead spills. Concerns about fluoride itself are a whole different subject and many studies are available detailing concerns about fluoride. Our concern is that the Washington Aqueduct is knowingly violating the zero MCLG for lead and arsenic by choosing a fluoride product that is contaminated with lead and arsenic and then arguing the treated water is "essentially lead free" after they have knowingly added a product to the treated water that has lead and arsenic and other contaminants in it. If it is correct that the Aqueduct has had 235 violations between 2004 and 2007 as reported by the New York Times
(http://projects.nytimes.com/toxic-waters/polluters/district-of-columbia) then it sort of makes one wonder what is meant by "essentially lead free" and how the Aqueduct is testing the water. "Essentially lead free" may amount to quite a bit over time for an infant or even an adult. Especially when one considers all of the products consumed on a daily basis that have water added to them.
In conclusion there are meters leaching lead (probably 95 plus percent of the meters) that DC Water is aware of and charging customers a monthly fee for and lead and arsenic contaminated HFSA being added to the treated water. If there is going to be serious discussion about where the lead is coming from and how to eliminate it then these and a host of other issues need to be addressed by Mr. Hawkins and his staff at DC Water in a serious manner. Hiring consultants to downplay the lead issue, grabbing a video camera at a meeting from a mother (as the former director did), changing the name and adding slogans to the bill and writing letters ignoring known sources of lead contamination will not get the lead and other contaminants out.
Thank you.
Washington Post Aricle: WASA Studying Meters for Lead, May 23, 2004
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50459-2004May23.html
...D.C. Council member Adrian M. Fenty (D-Ward 4) said WASA may have been too eager to replace water meters in order to increase revenue and did not take proper precautions.
"My hope is that WASA quickly adopts a zero-tolerance policy for lead in the water," Fenty said. "WASA wanted the new meters to increase revenue, and it has. But lead in the water seems to be a new concept to WASA."
Fluoride in Water Linked to Lower IQ in Children
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fluoride-in-water-linked-to-lowe...
NEW YORK, Dec. 21, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Exposure to fluoride may lower children's intelligence says a study pre-published in Environmental Health Perspectives, a publication of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (online December 17, 2010).
Fluoride is added to 70% of U.S. public drinking water supplies.
According to Paul Connett, Ph.D., director of the Fluoride Action Network, "This is the 24th study that has found this association, but this study is stronger than the rest because the authors have controlled for key confounding variables and in addition to correlating lowered IQ with levels of fluoride in the water, the authors found a correlation between lowered IQ and fluoride levels in children's blood. This brings us closer to a cause and effect relationship between fluoride exposure and brain damage in children."
"What is also striking is that the levels of the fluoride in the community where the lowered IQs were recorded were lower than the EPA's so-called 'safe' drinking water standard for fluoride of 4 ppm and far too close for comfort to the levels used in artificial fluoridation programs (0.7 – 1.2 ppm)," says Connett...
I am appalled that the brand-new Arena Stage chose to install only 2 drinking fountains. Instead, they chose to make a profit by selling bottled water to patrons. I suppose it also has to do with allowing patrons to bring only bottled water into the theatres. Either way, it's very disturbing to see a new facility choosing to NOT go green.
Can Mr. Hawkins comment on the recent Washington Post article about hexavalent chromium in DC water, as well as that of other cities around the country?