84.7% ignore pipe survey
Marion lags behind other towns
Staff writer
Despite years of warnings about a federal deadline for identifying potentially dangerous water service pipes, Marion was able to convince just 15.3% of its water customers to respond to a survey in time.
The compares to a response rate of well more than 60% in Abilene, which was notified of the requirement at the same time but began working on it years ago.
Abilene achieved a greater response rate — 19.1% — after an initial survey 1½ years ago and has been actively working since then to increase the rate.
Hillsboro, which started its efforts about the same time as Marion, managed to record a 40.4% response rate by deadline.
Several years ago, Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the federal Environmental Protection agency set mid-October of this year as the deadline for documenting exactly how many water customers have lead pipes, galvanized pipes, or copper pipes with lead solder — all of which can pose health hazards.
Marion is not alone in failing to collect sufficient responses. So few cities completed the task in time that KDHE now is allowing more time to gather complete information.
The federal Lead and Copper Rule Improvements program calls for identifying and ultimately replacing such pipes within 10 years. It also requires more rigorous testing of drinking water and a lower threshold to protect people from lead exposure.
The EPA this month announced $27.8 million in support for drinking water infrastructure improvements in Kansas.
Of that, 49% of the money is to be provided for disadvantaged communities as grants or loans that do not have to be repaid.
Other federal funding was made available by EPA, including $35 million to be awarded as competitive grants to reduce lead in drinking water.
Marion hired a contractor, Waterwise Enterprises of Oxford, to survey Marion residents about their water lines.
As of the filing deadline, 84.7% of Marion households had not responded to the surveys.
The low response rate left the city with a high number of pipes reported to KDHE as “unknown” by the October deadline.
City treasurer Becky Makovec said KDHE, in turn, wanted more information. It has given Marion a November deadline to provide it.
Additional surveys are being sent to people who did not respond.
A notice Marion posted online says that surveys will continue to be sent until a completed one for each address is on file with KDHE.
Marion has 1,200 water meters and contends 100% of them have polyvinyl chloride pipes with copper connectors.
Within houses, survey responses indicated 21 residences have copper pipes, 59 have galvanized pipes, 15 have high-density polyethylene pipes, 2 have lead pipes, 4 have cross-linked polyethylene pipes, 73 have polyvinyl chloride pipes, and 1,026 homes have unknown material in their pipes.
The number of residence with unknown pipe material in Hillsboro is 701.
Hillsboro’s report to KDHE showed 245 homes served by copper pipe, 18 (1.5%) served by galvanized steel pipe, 24 served by high-density polyethylene pipe, 1 served by lead pipes, 1 served by “other,” 24 served by “other non-lead” pipe, 69 served by cross-linked polyethylene pipe, five served by polyethylene pipe, and 89 served by polyvinyl chloride pipe.
In Peabody, 81% of residents didn’t return surveys. The town’s October report to KDHE showed 532 water supply lines were unknown.
The town’s report showed 41 homes served by copper pipe, 13 served by galvanized steel pipe, 7 served by high-density polyethylene pipe, 1 served by lead pipe, 20 served by cross-linked polyethylene pipe, 36 served by polyvinyl chloride pipe, and 7 blank responses.
Goessel’s survey was returned by 62.4% of building owners. It shows that less than half the water pipes in the city are known to be safe with 14% who responded listing copper pipes with lead solder, 25.2% cross-linked polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride pipe, 0.8% galvanized steel pipe, and 22.5% copper pipes.
Durham’s survey results were exemplary, with 100% of building owners responding. Nearly all interior plumbing is made of cross-linked polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride pipe. Just two homes have copper pipes, and neither has lead solder. This means Durham building owners are in the clear and won’t need to replace pipes because of lead contamination, which also can come from sediment in galvanized pipes.
Burns city clerk Mary Strotkamp said the city was still working on its survey and had sent nothing to KDHE so far.
The federal government estimates as many as 9 million homes are served by lead pipes, with many of them in lower-income communities.
“We’ve known for decades that lead exposure has serious long-term impacts for children’s health,” EPA administrator Michel Regan said in a press release. “And yet, millions of lead service lines are still delivering drinking water to homes. President Biden is putting an end to this generational public health problem.”
The Centers for Disease Control says there is no safe level of lead exposure, especially for children. Lead can severely harm children’s mental and physical development and irreversibly damage the brain. It also can cause increased blood pressure, heart disease, decreased kidney function, and cancer in adults.
There is no known antidote to lead exposure, CDC says.