Editor’s note: This piece is written by Sally Wasileski who is a chair and professor of the UNC Asheville Chemistry department. Here are her views:
Dear Members of the Media, County Government, and Elected Officials,
I am writing as both a chemist and as a resident of Buncombe County, who works in and has a child who attends school in the Asheville City Water Resources distribution area, to urge you to investigate and promote to the public the critical importance of addressing the recent positive test results for lead, and what that means for potentially more widespread prevalence of lead in drinking water across the Asheville City Water distribution system.Following the catastrophic impacts on the Asheville City Water system, it was shared on news media [for example, Mountain Xpress] and Buncombe County Press Briefings (November 14) that Asheville Water Resources suspended corrosion control treatment (orthophosphate additive) for 19 days, during a time when raw water from the North Fork Reservoir was directly input into City Water distribution lines. The degree of chlorination was also significantly increased. Both of these measures were done to address public health concerns from having no access to running water across the water service area, the inability to flush household toilets, and the need for widespread fire suppression.However, suspending corrosion control has the potential to cause a new problem for Asheville City Water system residents: the leaching of lead (Pb) into drinking water resulting from changes in the integrity of private plumbing without this corrosion control. Understanding the impact of changes in water chemistry is important to understanding why suspending suppression control is now a problem.As has been shared already in the media, 60% of Asheville city residents own homes built before 1988. Before 1988, lead was commonly used in pipes, faucets, plumbing fixtures, and the solder joints of indoor plumbing [CDC]. In addition, lead is a common material for plumbing service lines connecting homes to water distribution lines.What has been keeping our older homes, businesses, and schools from having elevated lead in their water is that, over time, pipes and fixtures have developed a thin protective coating that prevents the direct contact of water with the metal (lead, copper, etc). The orthophosphate corrosion control treatment helps to maintain this protective coating! (Reference, EPA)Water chemistry is very complex; changes due to factors like pH, oxygen content, chlorination, temperature, mineral levels, and corrosion control measures can cause chemical reactions that disrupt this protective coating. Any small breaks in this protective coating would now enable water to come in direct contact with lead metal in the pipes and fixtures, and cause this lead to corrode and leach into the water flowing into and through home plumbing. (Reference, EPA)What is unclear is how much damage to this protective layer can be caused by the 19 day lapse in corrosion control (most of the case studies of elevated lead from changes in water chemistry in Washington DC, Flint MI, Greensboro NC etc. are from plumbing damage over longer periods of time). Even in these cases, the extent of lead corrosion was highly variable as the protective coating of some fixtures and pipes had more breaks (and leached more lead) than others.Yet, recent test results of water collected on October 17 and again on October 24, 2024 at area elementary schools (early in the time period without corrosion control and with elevated chlorination) show levels of lead above the action limit at schools where prior lead test results were well below the action limit, and well above the amount of lead recommended for action by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The new lead test results indicate the likelihood of damage to the protective coatings in these schools plumbing and fixtures, or damage to their water service lines. In addition to the risk of lead in water at these schools, these results also indicate the potential for more widespread damage to plumbing in residences and businesses across the City.And although orthophosphate corrosion control has now been resumed across the water system, it is well known that the time it takes to regenerate this protective layer once corrosion control has resumed is highly variable and can take years to form. (Reference, EPA)My email message today is to help explain the chemistry reasons behind why the schools had positive tests now for the first time, and why potential damage to private plumbing could be much more widespread than just to those schools that were tested. And it is a request for you to call for action for wider sharing of information in order to protect the public.Addressing this problem with consistent and transparent messaging is critically important, especially as the boil water notice has been lifted and residents across Asheville may begin to consume water from their homes. Widespread compliance of the new addition to the alert to flush for 30 seconds to 2 minutes on a daily basis is insufficient without proper public education of why this is important, how it works, and long-term solutions.The City of Asheville Water Resources has recently posted information on their website, (including mitigation measures for those schools who have already tested positive, guidance to flush water through pipes before boiling and consuming, encouragement for homeowners to research the composition of their service lines and to test for lead in their water, and for children or pregnant or breastfeeding women who consumed any water since the storm to get tested for lead). These steps need to be disseminated clearly and transparently to the public to facilitate widespread adoption, as there is a legal responsibility from the EPA Lead and Copper Rule.We can not risk widespread lead poisoning, especially on top of all that our community has faced in the wake of Helene. We need a broad investigation of the lead levels at the tap of residences, schools, and businesses who source their water from Asheville City Water.This includes:A. Widespread testing at the tap (for both lead and copper) of residences and businesses built before 1988 and/or which have lead-containing (or unknown) water service lines.B. Clear and effective education and outreach to the public on the following;
People were posting similar concerns to this on Reddit and getting shut down by the toxic positivity crowd. Those same people expressed disbelief that the advice to flush your lines for 30 seconds to two minutes every time you use it was one that preexisted Helene. This is neither here nor there, just receipts for the other scholarship that is surely happening in the wake of all this — the politics of water, etc.
Thank you for writing this, your words are appreciated. I agree with all you said, and was skeptical of how people have been told basically “okay, back to normal! Oh, there’s some lead in the water in these samples, but it’s fine!” That’s never fine. As you said, there needs to be more investment from the city and county of testing to make sure the public water is fully safe before telling its citizens (and visitors from outside here) to drink the water, as well as giving correct information to citizens of how to protect themselves from lead exposure. I have not been impressed by local leadership for a while now, or how they seem to sweep things under the rug to keep a happy facade, but this definitely shouldn’t be swept under the rug and should be taken care of correctly.
I’m so glad this was written, and in such depth.
The city saying that people should go about “as usual”, as if renters or tourists were already following these guidelines widely, is an oversight that should be taken incredibly seriously.
Thank you, Sally, for stating all of these issues that city leaders should be focused on.
Thank you, thank you, thank you Mountain Xpress and Professor Wasileski. Unfortunately, this validates concerns I have had since they lifted the boil water notice. Certainly not a good look for the city or the water department. It is past time for them to step up and take ownership over this.
I listened to the City of Asheville City Council worksession this past Tuesday morning. I am under the impression that our city staff and council members are doing the very best they can in a horrific situation. The problems that the city is facing (like 2,400 homes damaged or destroyed, and another 400 businesses) are IMMENSE. Homelessness is a huge problem now.
It will take federal help to get the resources in here to fix our many problems. Local elected leaders went to DC to lobby for more help. The same day they did this, the US Congress approved $20 billion more in weapons sales to Israel so the genocide in Gaza could continue. Half our our spending goes straight to the US military, weapons industries, and over 800 overseas US military bases. This is where our money is going – to weapons industries to send weapons around the globe. This does not keep us safe in any respect, but it does increase the carbon in our atmosphere, while leaving US residents to suffer from the disasters that come from climate chaos.
So, if what is in our water is a problem (and I agree it is), then what is coming in our near future is IMMENSE PROBLEMS.