Town goes proactive to monitor homes for lead

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Bloomfield will be required to test the drinking water of 60 homes every six months for levels of lead because a recent test of 35 homes found four with levels higher than permitted federal limits. Previously to these results, the township was required to test 30 homes every three years. The testing increase will begin in 2018 and will conform to guidelines which are overseen by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection.

According to Paul Lasek, the township engineer who became the licensed water operator in 2015, homeowners volunteer for the test. The tests were last done three years ago. Based on those results, no additional tests were required until now. But since the recent announcement, he said about 20 residents have come forward to have their water tested.

Lasek said lead gets into the drinking water from a number of sources: the service line from the water main to the house; the water pipes in the house; or the sink fixtures. Pipes may have a lead surface or be joined with solder containing lead. Fixtures may also contain lead solder. Using an appropriate water filter or, before using water, running the a tap from one to five minutes to flush the lead from the pipes, will mitigate the problem. Lasek pointed out that the service line, from the curb to the house, is the homeowner’s responsibility.

There are different categories when considering which homes should be given a test if a test is requested, but Lasek said the categories can be a little confusing.

The test begins with the resident obtaining a bottle from the township. Lasek said the taps should not be used for at least six hours prior to the sample being drawn. He recommended the kitchen sink as the site for the test.
“One bottle, one sink,” he said.

The resident then simply takes the sample when they get up in the morning and returns the bottle.
Once the results are known, homeowners are sent the results and the test is done again. In the latest test of 35 homes, Lasek said two that tested high the first time did not test high the second time.

A reading of at least 15 parts of lead per billion liters requires the municipality to increase testing and alert its residents.
“The standard number of tests for a town our size is 60 samples a year,” Lasek said. “Depending upon the tests next year, we may go to 60 samples a year. It was 30 samples three years ago. But now the federal requirement is 60 and 60.”

The 20 or so residents who have already asked for the test will not be part of the 60 homes that have to be tested from January to June 2018. Lasek said that 60 is the minimum number the township must test. Information about testing will be mailed to residents, he said.