![]() ![]() ![]() Lead can enter drinking water when plumbing materials that contain lead corrode, especially where the water has high acidity or low mineral content that corrodes pipes and fixtures. The city is creating a list of school and childcare centers, developing sampling instructions and procedures to track and report the new tests to ADEQ. In 2017, Phoenix said all identified lead issues in public school districts were addressed as part of a statewide school screening program administered by ADEQ. Lead is a toxic metal that cause serious health issues when ingested. It also requires testing for lead in drinking water in all elementary schools and childcare facilities over a five-year period (20% of schools and facilities tested each year). The changes are part of the first major update to the Lead and Copper Rule in nearly 30 years. ![]() Phoenix estimates the price tag at $40 million and will request federal funds to cover half the cost. “With the sampling that we’ve done with our system throughout the years, since 1990, lead has not been an issue.” “Because if you ever had lead in the system, there’s a potential that lead particles have adhered itself to the galvanized pipe and then that’s why they want that addressed,” Hayes said. Phoenix has identified about 6,000 service lines made of galvanized steel which the EPA wants replaced. Phoenix expects the inventory of materials to be completed by December 2023 with results provided to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) which oversees the EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule. If there is a lead system out there, it will be immediately replaced,” he said. “Of the 70% of the inventory that we do have, we have not found a lead service line in our system and we don’t anticipate to find one. Troy Hayes, Phoenix’s water services director, told city leaders the inventory is underway. Service lines are small pipes that connect homes to the city’s main line. The EPA says community water systems, like the city’s, must inventory service lines and publicize information about the materials used. A new federal requirement means Phoenix will replace thousands of water service lines to reduce the risk of lead exposure in drinking water. ![]()
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