STATEMENT ON FLINT AND CFPUA’S DRINKING WATER
Like all professionals in the water industry, CFPUA is keenly interested in the issues raised by the situation in Flint, Michigan. Delivering safe, clean drinking water is a public trust. As a result of that trust being shaken, customers across the country are understandably asking, “Can it happen here?”
Given what we know about the chain of events in Flint, what occurred in Michigan cannot happen here. Their source water and treatment choices do not share any connection with how CFPUA conducts its water treatment operations.
It is more than reasonable for a customer to ask for information beyond a reassuring statement that their drinking water is safe. As a result, CFPUA is taking this opportunity to inform our customers about our work to protect their drinking water from lead.
The heart of CFPUA’s mission is to provide high quality service that protects public health. When it comes to protecting the public from lead, we completely fulfill our obligations under the U.S. EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule.
The Rule requires that water served by community public water systems be non-corrosive and confirmed as such by conducting tests at consumer taps and at locations throughout the system. The Rule also discusses how to provide optimum corrosion control treatment to prevent lead from leaching into the drinking water.
CFPUA provides a high level of corrosion control treatment through a program that greatly reduces the likelihood that lead could leach from pipes or fixtures. Orthophosphate, a safe and effective corrosion control additive, is used by CFPUA at our water treatment plants. It provides our customers with a proven barrier to corrosion in lead pipes.
Having a proven, effective treatment program is not enough. CFPUA staff, along with many important volunteers throughout our service area, test our drinking water for lead in a set, regulated manner. Because of their efforts, we are able to confirm the effectiveness of our corrosion control program and the safety of the service we provide.
Based on a plumbing profile, specific homes and buildings are chosen to ensure the accuracy of the results. The results are reported to the homeowner, as well as state and federal regulators for their review. Finally, CFPUA publicly reports our test results under the EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule in our annual water quality report.
For more information about CFPUA’s water treatment process, including our efforts to protect our customers from lead through our corrosion control program, please contact Mike McGill, Chief Communications Officer, at 332-6704 or mike.mcgill@cfpua.org.