Road Salt To Blame For Lead Leaching, Brick MUA Says

Almost a year after letters went out to Brick Township residents because drinking water had showed lead exceeding maximum allowable levels, the Brick Township MUA says it has narrowed down the cause of the problem.

In the 16 homes that showed lead concentrations of more than 15 parts per billion in the water, the source of the lead has been determined to be lead in the plumbing of the homes, the MUA said in a news release Monday. Additionally, MUA officials said, road salt being used on area roads to combat snow and ice during the winter is exacerbating the problem.

Last November, Brick Township residents received pamphlets telling them how to cope with lead in drinking water -- a public education program required by the state Department of Environmental Protection any time there are test results that show lead in any homes. Joseph Maggio, director of water quality for the MUA, said at the time the pamphlets were prompted by results of testing conducted in June 2014 of 34 homes in the township that were built between 1982 and 1987 -- when home plumbing fixtures and solders used frequently contained higher levels of lead than is allowed by today's standards.

The pamphlets set off a panic among residents who were concerned about the possibility of lead in the drinking supply, and Maggio explained then that the notification was the result of the very limited, very specific testing.

In addition to the notifications, the MUA also was required to make changes to its treatment process to optimize corrosion control, he said.

"The source of the lead is the plumbing in the tested homes and not the water coming from Brick Utilities water treatment plant," the MUA reiterated in Monday's news release. The MUA said it daily tests water as it leaves the water treatment plant, and more than 2,000 water samples collected over the past 5 years show the water leaving the treatment plant has never exceeded the New Jersey Safe Drinking Water Standards Action Level for lead. Corrosion of the plumbing is causing lead to be released within the homes' pipes and enter the water, the MUA said.

Those results, however, prompted deeper investigation by the MUA, and it began reviewing water quality data from the Metedeconk River, its primary source of drinking water. What MUA officials found was an alarming increase in the amount of chloride, the MUA said.

"Chloride is an ion naturally found to increase corrosion," officials said, and between 2005 and 2015, chloride concentrations in the Metedeconk River have more than doubled, primarily due to winter road salting in the river's 70-square-mile watershed.

The salt used for roads, sidewalks and parking lots each winter include sodium chloride, calcium chloride and potassium chloride. Water from melting snow carries road salt with it, eventually reaching nearby lakes, streams and rivers, and Ocean County's sandy soils allow the chloride to infiltrate into shallow groundwater, the MUA said. Increasing development in the area is only going to make matters worse, the MUA said.

In addition to offering further testing to the 34 sampled homes and more than 200 others in the township, the MUA hired two nationally recognized experts in the field of water corrosion, Dr. Marc Edwards of Virginia Tech University and Cathy Dipietro of Aquarius Engineering, to evaluate water treatment processes and identify solutions.

The MUA made changes to its water treatment to reduce the corrosive nature of the water, and a resampling of 17 homes (out of 34 that fall into the specific testing category) three months after the changes were implemented showed a 65 percent reduction in the lead concentrations, the MUA said.

"Brick Utilities is taking a leadership role in addressing a problem that will be affecting utilities all over the United States, rising levels of chloride in water due to excessive use of road salt and sea level rise," Edwards said. "Brick is funding research to better understand and control this problem, to which there are presently no stock solutions. It will take time to solve, but we are pleased to be helping Brick to address this important issue, which they are pursuing with a sense of urgency."

The MUA said it is "continuing to evaluate additional treatment modifications to further reduce corrosion" and will be reaching out to officials in other towns to try to reduce the amount of winter road salt used in the Metedeconk River Watershed.

"Brick Utilities will continue to work towards regaining compliance with the Lead and Copper Rule and address the problem of increasing chloride in its water supply and adapt its water treatment process to this changing environment," Maggio said.

But it will take better management of winter salt usage -- a result of increased development in the Metedeconk watershed -- to address the issue, the MUA said.

In the meantime, the MUA is continuing to try to educate residents on the issue and on what they can do to prevent lead exposure, which can cause a variety of illnesses and even death.

To reduce the possibiity of exposure:

• Run your water to flush out lead. Run water for approximately 60 seconds to flush lead from interior plumbing or until it becomes cold or reaches a steady temperature before using it for drinking or cooking, if it hasn't been used for several hours.
• Use cold water for cooking and preparing baby formula.
• Do not boil water to remove lead. Boiling water will not reduce lead.
• Look for alternative drinking water sources or treatment of water. You may want to consider purchasing bottled water or a water filter.
• Test your water for lead. Call 732-458-7000 ext. 4226 to find out how to get your water tested for lead.
• Get your child's blood tested. Contact your local health department or healthcare provider to find out how you can get your child tested for lead if you are concerned about exposure.
• Identify and replace plumbing fixtures containing lead.

"Even though this is not an issue where the water we are sending our customers is contaminated with lead, Brick Utilities is committed to addressing the problem of corrosion in our customer's plumbing and the Board of
Commissioners will continue to provide its professional staff with all of the support and resources necessary to address this situation." MUA Chairman George Cevasco said.

Call Brick Utilities at 732-458-7000 ext. 4226 or visit Brick Utilities' Web site at www.BrickUtilities.com to find out how to get your water tested for lead or for more information on steps Brick Utilities is taking to address the lead action level exceedance. For more information on reducing lead exposure around your home/building and the health effects of lead, visit EPA's Web site at www.epa.gov/lead or contact your health care provider.