Water risks not major, officials say

Drinking water with a high amount of lead that was found in four local communities served by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority will require no major infrastructure repairs, and poses no major public health risks, local officials say.

Everett, Melrose, Winthrop, and Lynnfield were among 10 MWRA communities where lead tests showed levels higher than the legal standard of 15 parts per billion, state and federal environmental agencies said last week. Testing found samples at 16 parts per billion, the MWRA said.

Water samples were taken from faucets inside private homes last September. Although subsequent testing has turned up no abnormal readings, the communities must submit a plan to the state Department of Environmental Protection outlining steps to replace lead-lined water pipes, an MWRA official said.

''We expect the DEP will be notifying them soon," said Jonathan Yeo, an MWRA spokesman. ''My understanding is they will be required to fix the line out of the sidewalks."

The DEP is reviewing the findings for all 10 MWRA communities and will likely contact them this week to meet with local officials, spokesman Ed Coletta said.

''We're not looking at enforcement [action] right now," Coletta said. ''We want to work with the communities and MWRA to resolve the issues."

Local public works and water department officials said they were surprised by the results. The problem more likely stems from old lead pipes and plumbing inside homes than from public water pipes, they said.

''From our study and research, the majority of lead comes from the home itself," said John Harrigan, chairman of the board of the Lynnfield Water District, which serves south Lynnfield. ''It's not really in our system."

Said Al Borgonzi, the Everett public works director, ''We have no water mains with lead. We replaced them all 10 years ago. The only lead remaining is either the connection going into the house, or the lead plumbing people may actually have in their home."

Yeo said the MWRA moved years ago to eliminate lead in its water supply. Cities and towns were encouraged to replace old, lead-lined pipes. The agency also increased the alkalinity of its water system, which reduces the amount of lead, he said.

''We're doing everything we can to reduce the corrosive nature of water," Yeo said. ''And we remind people that this [failed samples] was only one round of sampling done last September. Our recent samples have been fine."

Still, some local customers are skeptical. Infants, children, and pregnant women are most affected by lead. Some mothers aren't surprised by the findings.

''I've never drank Everett water, or let my kids drink it," said Carolyn Bartholomew, 31, of Everett, who is due to give birth to her third child next month. ''I've never heard anything about lead being in it, but it doesn't taste right. To me, it always tastes like it has a little zing to it. . . . That's why I buy bottled water."

''It doesn't surprise me there may be lead in the water," said Jodi Langone, 32, of Winthrop, a mother of three ranging in age from 7 years old to 15 months. I've seen our water go from good to bad, bad to good. Sometimes you'd hear 'It's OK to drink,' and other times, 'It's not OK to drink.' That's why I drink Poland Springs."

But local officials say tap water is safe to drink. They also think the results of the lead samples were skewed. After problems were found in 13 of 18 samples taken last fall, MWRA asked communities to take new samples, local officials said.

''From what I understand, the way the samples were done was wrong," said Roger McAvoy, general foreman of the Water Department in Winthrop, who supervises the sampling. ''We resampled and we were told we were OK."

McAvoy said the most recent samples were taken a few weeks ago from 18 single-family homes in town. ''We were told we were fine," he said. ''That's why I'm surprised by this."

About 40 percent of Winthrop is served by lead-lined pipes, some of which date back to the 1920s. The town has gradually been cleaning and relining them, with the most recent work done last winter on a 2,000-foot section of a 12-inch water main on Shirley Street, he said.

Melrose public works director Bob Beshara said two samples taken from homes last fall probably failed because homeowners didn't run water for five to 10 seconds before sampling. ''Running the water takes out the residual lead and that makes it safe," he said.

Only 5 percent of Melrose's pipes are lead-lined, with the rest lined with copper, he said. ''We have an aggressive program to replace them," Beshara said. ''We encourage homeowners to do the same."

In Lynnfield, Harrigan said the water district still must replace 70 lead connections, short pieces of pipe that connect to a valve.

''We've been doing them all along and we'll continue," Harrigan said. ''We take testing seriously, but what they detected was very low levels. We believe this is much ado about nothing."

Kathy McCabe can be reached by e-mail at kmccabe@globe.com