Town of Pinedale Drinking Water Public Notice
Precautions if your water has lead exposure
by Town of Pinedale
December 3, 2016
Editor’s Note: This is a republishing of a Town of Pinedale public notice from November 8, 2016.
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DRINKING WATER
PUBLIC NOTICE
Corrosion Control Treatment Changes
The Town of Pinedale recently received a violation notice from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for not complying with a drinking water treatment technique requirement. Even though this is not an emergency, as a customer, you have a right to know what happened, what you should do, and what we are doing to correct this situation. Note that the Town water supply (Fremont Lake) contains no lead and that the Town distribution system contains minute traces of lead.
Background
The Town started using sodium silicate for a corrosion control inhibitor in 1999. This treatment helps prevent lead in the pipes from dissolving into the water. In early 2010, the Town notified the EPA that the sodium silicate feed system would be moved up to the new water treatment plant at the lake where injection of sodium silicate would continue, and that a soda ash injection system would be installed in addition to the sodium silicate feed. The Town discontinued the injection of sodium silicate in the spring of 2015 and continued using soda ash. Once the new soda ash system came online it became the primary corrosion control system and the sodium silicate system was turned off, but kept ready if it was needed in the future. The Town communicated these change with the EPA. More recently the EPA notified the Town that this change was not documented according to EPA requirements, resulting in a violation of the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations.
What is being done?
The Town has started dosing sodium silica into the water distribution system and has turned off the soda ash injection. The sodium silicate will coat the pipes over time, providing protection from lead and copper corrosion.
For more information, please contact Josh Wilson, the Public Works Supervisor, at307-367-4136 or PO Box 709, Pinedale, WY 82941.
What should I do?
Listed below are some steps you can take to reduce your exposure to lead:
• Call the Town at 307-367-4136 to find out how to get your water tested for lead.
• Find out whether your pipes contain lead or lead solder.
• Run your water for 15-30 seconds or until it becomes cold before using it for drinking or cooking. This draws fresh water from the Town’s water mains flushing any standing lead from within the service line pipes.
• Don’t cook with or drink water from the hot water tap; lead dissolves more easily into hot water.
• Do not boil your water to remove lead. Excessive boiling water makes the lead more concentrated – the lead remains when the water evaporates.
What does this mean?
This is not an emergency. If it had been, you would have been notified within 24 hours.
Note that the Town water supply (Fremont Lake) contains no lead and that the Town distribution system contains minute traces of lead. Lead may be present in private service lines which were plumbed with lead solder and/or lead containing fittings and fixtures. Lead found in tap water typically comes from corrosion of these older fixtures and from copper pipes with lead soldered joints. If the water sits stagnant in these lines for several hours, the lead may leach into the water and potentially become consumed.
Infants and children who drink water containing lead in excess of the action level could experience delays in their physical or mental development. Children could show slight deficits in attention span and learning abilities. Adults who drink this water over many years could develop kidney problems or high blood pressure. Please contact your family physician about blood testing for lead.
Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.
This notice is being sent to you by the Town of Pinedale Water System,
Water System ID#: WY5600041 C.
Date distributed: 11/8/2016.
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