Wheatfield looking into lead

By Benjamin Joe

At its regular business meeting, the Town of Wheatfield approved spending $9,300 with Wendel Engineering for its lead service line inventory work.

“We spoke about this at our last meeting,” Town Engineer Tim Zuber said before the vote. “As you’re aware, the town is required to do an inventory of all water services in the town, based on the dates and the type of service that they are. The town got to a ton of these over the last summer and fall.”

The supplement will be used to get the remainder of the uninspected homes inspected and recorded to see whether or not each has a lead service line or not. Expected to be completed by October, the work also will implement a new program to randomly sample homes for lead in drinking water.

“Previously, it was six locations that we tested every three years. Now we’re going to have to do 60 locations this fall, another 60 locations in June of next year,” Zuber said.

Currently, 1,400 letters have gone out to homes that may or may not have lead service lines.

Councilman Larry Helwig characterized the task as an “unfunded mandate.”

“I take it there are no grants for this?” he asked. Zuber replied that, depending on what is found, there may be grants in the future to replace lead pipes.

“So far, we haven’t found any lead service in the town or galvanized pipes, which is just as bad. … If we were to start finding a lot of lead, there is grants available to go and replace those,” he said.

The new regulations come from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency after changes were made to the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements.

“There were revised regulations, which were finalized in the fall of 2024, which the current administration have asked for multiple stays of the implementation of that,” said Mark Lenz, vice president of Hazel & Sawyer, a firm that helps its clients with technical work regarding water issues. “So, what exactly that looks like or when it takes effect, we don’t exactly know right now.”

According to the EPA’s fact sheet on the new regulations: “Lead in drinking water irreparably harms children and adults. Lead is a highly toxic metal that can impact brain development in children, kidney functions in adults, and interfere with the production of red blood cells that carry oxygen to all parts of your body. The federal government banned the installation of new lead pipes in 1986, yet up to 9 million homes and businesses are still connected to water mains through legacy lead pipes in neighborhoods across America. These remaining lead pipes are disproportionately concentrated in low-income communities and communities of color.

“That is why it is so important to remove lead from our water systems. The Lead and Copper Rule Improvements strengthen nationwide requirements to protect children and adults from lead in drinking water. These advancements are common sense, achievable and built on actions already underway in states and cities around the country.”

The rule states lead service lines must be replaced by 2026 – the first step is to locate them – as well as require increased testing for all water systems.

Zuber and Water and Sewer Department Head Mark Clark said it is the town’s responsibility to pay for the testing, though the cost is unknown at this time.

“We’re sampling, but how much for each sample? (Could be) $50, $40? How do you budget for that? There’s a lot of unknowns from here,” Clark said.