Chicago sued over lead pipes, city says water supply safe

Studies have shown that lead pipes carrying water into homes can be shaken or damaged by nearby construction work. Many other American cities have faced lead-contaminated water. The EPA study and other research found the anti-corrosion treatment also can be thwarted when street work, plumbing repairs or changes in water chemistry disrupt the coating, causing lead to leach from service lines.

Chicago’s current predicament serves as an example of an even broader problem that a number of USA cities are inevitably facing, after spending more than a century installing lead pipes in order to deliver drinking water.

The City of Chicago could not be immediately reached for comment.

“It’s sent out at a higher PH that keeps the water less corrosive to the piping and makes it less likely for lead to dissolve in the water”, Water Utility Director Troy Hall said.

“We have a facility specifically dedicated for corrosion control”, Bronowski said. “The city of Chicago has put the health and safety of hundreds of thousands of residents at risk by allowing alarming levels of lead into the water supply and failing to arm residents with any knowledge of how to avoid contamination”. In a statement, a spokesman said “Chicago’s water is safe and exceeds federal, state and industry standards”.

Snyder, asked about his role in the events that led up to the water crisis, provided an impassioned response Thursday, saying he wants “to fix this problem” and that he is “trying to stand up and take responsibility like our value system says we should”. Chicago has conducted more than 1,600 water main and sewer replacement projects since January 2009 in an attempt to upgrade its aging system.

A special investigator appointed by the state’s attorney general to investigate Flint’s water crisis said earlier this month that manslaughter charges could be brought against officials responsible for any deaths caused by the city’s tainted water. Following a rate hike, Flint’s state-appointed emergency manager Darnell Earley oversaw a switch from Detroit’s water supply to the Flint River in an effort to save the floundering city $5 million over two years.

Federal regulations state that 50 homes are to be tested for lead every three years in Chicago.

Helen Binns, MD, head of the Lead Clinic at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and one of the country’s leading experts in lead, tells families who use tap water for cooking and drinking to use cold, flushed water to ensure that the levels of lead in water are as low as possible.