Nation's Toughest Lead Water Rules Proposed in Michigan After Flint

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LANSING, MI – As his administration continues to deal with fallout from the Flint water crisis and resulting public health catastrophe, Gov. Rick Snyder has asked Michigan lawmakers to approve a set of guidelines for lead levels in drinking water that would be the toughest in the country.

The guidelines proposed for lead and copper levels in drinking water exceed those in federal rules, which the governor called “dumb and dangerous” given the potential for high lead levels to cause irreversible brain damage, especially in young children.

The lead crisis has reached such proportions that “we aren’t going to wait for the federal government to fix it anymore,” Snyder said in a statement announcing the plan, which would, among other things, lower the limit for lead in drinking water to 10 parts per billion by 2020 from the current federal standard of 15 parts per billion.

If the Michigan rules are approved, they could become a model for the rest of the country to follow and “prevent additional water crises.”

Michigan’s lead crisis isn’t isolated to Flint, where the city’s 100,000 residents were exposed to dangerously high lead levels after the city switched its water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River in 2014 while under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager.

Test results showing dangerously high lead levels in 15 Detroit schools — including one in which a drinking fountain recorded lead levels at 100 times the allowable limit — were released on Thursday, The Detroit News and other media reported. On Wednesday, Detroit Public Schools said testing revealed 19 of 62 schools exceeded acceptable lead and copper levels.

The governor didn’t release any cost estimates for implementing his proposal.

The standard Snyder proposes is in line with the World Health Organization standard in Third World countries. At a meeting of the Flint Interagency Coordinating Committee Friday, where Snyder formally unveiled his proposal, some criticized it as not tough enough, the Detroit Free Press reports.

Retired Brigadier Gen. Michael McDaniel, who is running Flint Mayor Karen Weaver’s lead pipe removal program, suggested that a state that bills itself as “Pure Michigan” should adopt standards higher than those that exist in many Third World Countries. He cited studies that suggest the tolerable lead limit should be 5 parts per billion.

Weaver, speaking with reportrs after the meeting, said she agrees with McDaniel.

"All I could think was if these things had been in place we wouldn't be in this situation," Weaver said.

Snyder’s office says the proposals would:

• Protect the public better by requiring annual lead and copper testing for all schools, day cares, adult foster care facilities, substance abuse clinics, and public hearing facilities as well as initial testing at license grant or opening.
• Improve protection of residents by continuously assessing and making recommendations regarding science, testing, monitoring protocols, water treatments, and corrosion control through a new Advisory Commission on Drinking Water Quality.
• Ensure water customers have a stronger voice by requiring each public water system serving more than 500 customers to create a Water System Advisory Council responsible for local oversight and input.
• Protect homebuyers and renters by requiring disclosure of lead service line status in all home sales and rental contracts.
• Alert the public better by requiring notices to all customers as well as public notices to all schools, community centers, and child care centers when a public water system exceeds the lead action level.
• Protect water systems better by requiring public water systems to follow defined corrosion control treatment standards. Also define proper testing protocols to follow regarding the frequency, size, site selection, and draw of water samples.
• Protect water supplies better by requiring comprehensive lead and copper analysis prior to any significant change in water source or treatment by a public water system. Also require all corrosion control to be performed under the guidance of a licensed engineer.
• Provide better healthcare by requiring strict notifications and access to blood testing for households that test over 40 parts per billion for lead.
• Protect residents more by requiring public water systems to conduct a complete inventory of all service line materials up to the interior meters.
• Improve water systems by requiring every public water system to adopt a full lead service line replacement program within 10 years. Also prohibit partial lead service line replacements.
• Protect residents more by phasing in a reduction in the lead action level from 15 ppb to 10 ppb by 2020 to align with the standards currently used by the World Health Organization.
• Enforce water treatment protections by establishing state fines for violations of state rules to assure accountability and transparency.

Image credit: David Salafia via Flickr / Creative Commons