City of Folsom warns residents some home water pipes may contain lead
FOLSOM — Some Folsom residents are alarmed after receiving a letter from the city warning them that the type of water pipe in their home may contain lead.
The City of Folsom said the letter was not to cause alarm but was part of its Lead Assessment Program that the state and federal government are demanding agencies to complete.
"As part of a nationwide effort required by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the State Water Resources Control Board – Division of Drinking Water (DDW), the City of Folsom is required to create a water service line inventory to comply with the EPA's Lead and Copper Rule Revisions," the City of Folsom said on its Lead Assessment Program page. "This inventory will assist the City in identifying the presence or absence of lead water service lines in the water system."
Folsom resident Maria Hills did not think twice about the water she gets from her faucets until she got the letter.
"I thought, 'Well, this is very interesting, disturbing,' " Hills said.
Hills was one of 6,600 residents to receive the letter, which states that the type of water pipes leading into her home has "unknown material," possibly lead.
She told me that what stuck out the most to her in the letter was the entire back page that provided steps on how to reduce lead in drinking water.
I asked the city if people needed to test their water.
"No. So the letter is strictly asking for what type of service line material that exists on the property," said Marcus Yasutake, director of Environmental and Water Resources for the City of Folsom.
He said people who received the letter should not be concerned.
"I mean there's not a significant concern that there is a significant health risk associated with it," Yasutakesaid. "This is part of a larger nationwide and statewide program."
Yasutake provided some clarity that they only ask the residents who received the letter to check what material their pipe is made of and fill out a survey if it is lead, galvanized or plastic.
"We're really looking at the section of pipe that enters typically right next to your front water hose spigot," Yasutake said.
The city said its water tests show that none of the water flowing into homes is contaminated with lead, but if you have an older home built before the lead pipe ban in 1986, it could be a problem.
The city included multiple resources and website links in the letter to help folks understand what was being asked of them, but many took to social media to share their confusion.
"I don't think people were going to social media because they didn't think the letter was clear," said Yasutake. "I think, initially, they were wondering who else received the letter."
"It was alarming," Hills said. "To scare us all, to make us think we have this issue when potentially we don't is not very nice."
The city said it already submitted its initial inventory based on maps and records from when houses were constructed.
Now, the city has 10 years under the federal requirements to identify specially all the service lines status within the city.
Yasutake said that about 20,000 service lines were already cleared and that is why the city is asking the community's help in determining what type of material their lines are made of for the additional 6,600.
The city is planning to have a meeting this week on what funding for any fixes will look like and if the state or federal government will be providing grants for this.
