Red Bank Water Test Plan For Lead Found Faulty

A review of a government water testing plan developed by the Borough of Red Bank, New Jersey for the presence of lead in its drinking water, has revealed gross errors and a strategy that casts doubt on its procedures and previous test results.

I am the founder of a fledgling residents organization called Red Bank "POP" (People Over Politics), and reviewed the testing plan, having personally experienced the replacement of a pipe delivering municipal water to my home, that was partly made of lead. Called a "service line", the lead material is not unusual for the Red Bank Water system that is over 100 years old.

As a former inspector of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), I am experienced in inspecting reports, and have found representations by the Red Bank Water Department of locations where water is to be sampled and a testing strategy that ignores the highest risk locations of lead poisoning, where old lead service lines deliver water to single family homes.

The Red Bank Water Department detailed a few weeks ago in a public presentation, lead test results that were shown to be below a cause for action. However, the water sampling street locations were not shown due to privacy concerns that test results could affect property values. I had attended the presentation and later reviewed a copy of the testing plan. I found that the majority of water samples were taken at professional offices, municipal buildings, restaurants, a funeral home and also street locations that were wrongly identified as single family homes, instead of following the Federal Government EPA requirements to target at-risk single family homes.

I believe that the testing plan had been manipulated to avoid reporting old lead service lines installed by the borough that connects homes to the water system. Currently the cost of replacing these toxic, under-street lines is at the property owner's expense. This is a thousands- of-dollars expense which I am fighting as an unfair and hidden tax. I had met with the Red Bank Mayor, Council Members and attended public meetings where I presented working solutions made by other NJ towns and nationwide, but received general inaction.

A correction in Red Bank’s water testing strategy might give different results, and a review of the sampling plan by the NJDEP is required. The NJDEP has stated recently that it found deficiencies in the sample site locations and that the existing plan had not been approved.

A question remains to me whether the extended inspection of Red Bank's plan may be needed to be done for other municipal water testing plans, and overburden the NJDEP's normal work load. Lead in drinking water exists in Newark, where thousands of water filters have been given to homes, and has been an ongoing health and financial disaster in Flint, Michigan.

I am working with NJ Politicians and met with an ex New Jersey Governor, on a new law that would make local government water departments more transparent. This would showcase our New Jersey as a proactive example of attacking a nationwide water infrastructure problem before it becomes an emergency. You may keep in touch with our activities at Red Bank "People Over Politics" at RedBankPOP.org