Before making a definitive next step toward solving St. Croix’s potable water issues, V.I. Water and Power Authority officials said Sunday they are awaiting guidance from the federal Environmental Protection Agency on how to decipher sampling results that revealed elevated copper and lead levels but weren’t garnered through the proper sampling protocols.
A Government House release issued late last week said a “comprehensive analysis” of EPA’s most recent sequential water testing on St. Croix “indicates concerns over widespread elevated levels of lead and copper in the water system may be unfounded.” Those tests, conducted in November, showed all tested sites “overwhelmingly reported levels of lead and copper well below the actionable levels, and many areas were non-detectable,” the release said.
“While some areas on St. Croix continue to experience water quality issues, primarily discolored water due to aging and deteriorating ductile iron pipes, the EPA’s initial elevated readings of lead and copper are now understood to be largely due to deviations from standard testing protocols,” according to the release. “The initial sampling protocol, which focused on sampling at the meter rather than the tap to evaluate and assess the red and brown water, potentially introduced other contaminants into the sampled water,” it said.
Putting the release into context in a call with the Source Sunday night, WAPA Chief Executive Officer Andy Smith said that the EPA wasn’t brought in to test for copper and lead when it conducted its initial tests in September. Instead, it was looking to find the cause of the district’s brown water issue and, while testing, didn’t use the protocols specifically designed for those metals.
This was acknowledged by the EPA during a subsequent community forum, though WAPA said the EPA was still confident in its findings and recommended that public notice be given. A national Associated Press article quoting an expert involved in the Flint, Michigan water testing in the 1990s also called into question the testing method, saying that the EPA’s testing at the meter instead of the tap could have potentially introduced the lead into the water and contaminated the samples.
Without delving into that particular scenario, Smith on Sunday said there were other deviations from the standard process, such as collecting samples in 250 milliliter bottles instead of the specified one liter, which could have impacted the concentration of whatever metals were in the water. And while WAPA continues to look at long-term solutions – adjusting its water treatment chemistry, looking into filtration and replacing parts of the system that do have lead and copper – what’s really the next step is hearing from the EPA on how best to proceed, Smith said.
Historically, WAPA has met its EPA compliance mandates, with 97 percent of its samples coming back clean. During the sequential sampling – conducted after the initial Oct. 13 results – only three of the 123 samples collected came back with levels over EPA standards, which still meets the 97 percent, Smith added.
“The EPA during their environmental dialogue did acknowledge the fact that lead and copper protocols weren’t followed because they weren’t looking for lead in copper and still moved ahead with the directive that WAPA continue with its advisory based on a place of caution,” said WAPA Communications Director Shanell Petersen. “Where that puts us now is having to go back and look at the results because they didn’t follow the lead and copper protocol.”
