[Archived] No Evidence of Lead Risk in Alexandria Water

City Press Release


	City of Alexandria, Virginia Office of the City Manager Alexandria City Hall 301 King Street, Suite 3500 Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211 www.alexandriava.gov Telephone: 703.838.4300 Fax : 703.838.6343

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 3, 2004
PIO 053-04

No Evidence of Lead Risk in Alexandria Water

The Alexandria Health Department has been monitoring the reports of elevated levels of lead in homes in the District of Columbia and Arlington County. Dr. Charles Konigsberg, Jr., MD, Director of the Alexandria Health Department, reports that there is no evidence of lead that presents any significant risk to the public in Alexandria's drinking water supply. Water supplied to the City comes from the Fairfax County Water Authority, from the Occoquan Reservoir and the Potomac River. In the last two years, all tests of water entering the City's distribution system have indicated no lead in the water supply.

The Virginia American Water Company, the company that owns the water distribution system in the City of Alexandria, has conducted over 700 tests for lead in drinking water at connections to homes and businesses throughout the distribution system over the last seven years. In each series of tests the water distribution system in Alexandria has met the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) drinking water standards for lead. In the most recent series of tests, 52 of the 53 samples taken were below the EPA action level of 15 parts per billion.

The Virginia American Water Company has an active program to prevent water it distributes from leaching lead and other metals from pipes and fixtures in the distribution system. The water is pH adjusted to reduce its acidity and has a corrosion inhibitor added to coat the inside of metal pipes.

No water mains in the City of Alexandria are constructed of lead pipes. The only water service connection pipes made of lead in the City were constructed before 1945. Some houses with copper pipes constructed before 1986 have pipe joints soldered with lead-based solder.

Over the last decade, the Alexandria Health Department has routinely tested children for lead in its well child clinics. Of the 3,242 children tested, only 67 had elevated blood lead levels. It is believed that the majority of these children were exposed to lead paint rather than water containing lead. The Health Department took appropriate steps to help protect the health of these children.

Persons concerned about the possibility that their water might contain lead can do several things to minimize their potential exposure:
- When drawing water for drinking or cooking, running the faucet for several minutes until the water turns noticeably colder will purge water that has stood in the pipes for several hours and may have had more opportunity to leach metals from pipes or fixtures.
- Purchasing an NSF-approved (National Sanitation Foundation) water treatment device that removes lead for your kitchen tap is another alternative.
- Residents who have older plumbing may have their water tested for lead by a laboratory to reassure themselves that their water does not have elevated lead levels.

Useful information will be posted on the City's web site. Information is also available on the web site of the Centers for Disease Control www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/spotLights/leadinwater.htm

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