DALTON, Mass. — Some residents received an "alarming" notice from the Water Department about the possibility of lead pipes or solder in some homes, but officials assured them not to worry.

 

The notice is a result of a new rule from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at the federal level to ensure that there is no lead in anybody's drinking water, Town Manager Thomas Hutcheson said during a Select Board meeting last week. 

 

"Going forward, there's additional regulations regarding that, and the water district has sent out letters … that says you may have lead pipes. They will be conducting surveys to find out what the extent of the issue is," he said. 

 

Later that week, during a Board of Health meeting, Water Department Superintendent Bob Benlien emphasized that the notice was not an indication of a lead issue in the water system. 

 

The notice was required by the state to help the town gather more data to determine the materials used in the service lines, he said.

 

"It's not saying that we have lead in the water. It's not saying that we have lead in the pipe. It just says that we don't have all of our water lines documented," Benlien said. 

 

Part of the water treatment process is doing corrosion control and pH adjustments to the water to minimize the risk of lead and copper leaching into the water.

 

Lead and copper testing is conducted every five years to ensure water safety. During the testing process homes are selected based on their construction years and the likelihood of having lead solder, he said. 

 

"Every time we've tested that, we've come in with non detect for lead and copper, so there's no lead in the water, so the water safe," Benlien said. 

 

In addition, many water lines in town were replaced with copper during the '60s and '70s, connecting new mains to existing home lines, he said. 

 

Knowledge of private service lines helps homeowners understand potential issues, though it may not require immediate action on their part, Benlien said. 

 

The Water Department, which is overseen by the town's Fire District, received a grant to do a lead service line inventory. 

 

"The biggest thing was the way the letter went out and how it said it, it was a little alarming to people. I think that's it too, because, I guess the state really wants people to participate, but they also want them to be aware," Health Agent Agnes Witkowski said. 

 

"They want education, they want information out there, and they want people to respond. So how they responded was, well, we don't know what's in your pipe, so if it's not, you got to take these precautions and with that, it's very alarming to people." 

 

The Water Department has a lot of information material on its website with links to more information and an option to create an appointment to have a service line inspected. 

 

Around April or May, a mailer with a QR code was sent out asking residents to participate in a survey by taking pictures of their service lines and submitting the information, Benlien said. 

 

Through the grant, the district's consultant Tighe and Bond conducted outreach through mailings and hand-delivered door hangers but the response was poor because some residents thought it was a hoax due to some "sketchy stuff going on in town," Benlien said. 

 

"[Tighe and Bond] went in and they did basement inspections, as many as they could that was covered under the contract, and then it was required that, once they put out the preliminary lead service line inventory that they sent out this letter to all the houses where it was unknown," he said. 

 

The first paragraph of the letter is highlighted and does say, "your home is served by a service line that may contain lead," Benlien said.

 

However, the second paragraph clarifies that the department's inventory has determined that a portion of the service line that connects the building to the water main is of unknown material classification, he said. 

 

"'I've been at the Water Department for 21 years. I have not seen a lead service line yet. I have seen some galvanized lines, but not many. Most of the lines I've seen are copper on the inventory side of it," Benlien said. 

 

Since this letter has been sent, the Water Department has been receiving phone calls from residents; staff member has been going homes to take the picture and submit the information for the resident. 

 

"We have no problem with that. The more data we get, the more complete our program becomes," Benlien said. 

 

The preliminary lead service line inventories throughout the state had to be done by Oct. 15, so the Water Department worked to submit as much data as it could up until the deadline.

 

The state has received the data and the department is in compliance but the document is constantly being updated, he said. 

 

In 10 years, all of the unknowns have to be known, he said. 

 

"So, the more data we can get by people calling us and us going in and doing the basement inspections, it's that much less that we'll have to do later," Benlien said. 

 

This letter also allows the resident to send a picture of their water service lines and submit information on their own to help the Water Department complete the inventory.