Tacoma Parks now testing water fountains for lead contamination
TACOMA - Public utility crews are going door to door to warn Tacoma homeowners about possible lead contamination in their drinking water. They’re still trying to figure out exactly where the problem might be coming from and if they need to change out any old pipes.
High levels of lead have been found at several Tacoma homes and schools. Now Metro Parks is testing all their water fountains around the city, to make sure that what comes out is safe.
Tiffany Opele and her family decided to take advantage of today’s warm temperatures with a BBQ at Wapato Hills Park. They brought along plenty of food, but didn’t bother carrying bottled water.
“I figured I didn't need to.”
Opele thought her kids could just use the water fountains at the park. She didn’t know about the concerns of lead contamination in parts of the city’s water supply.
“That’s not good at all,” she said, when she found out the recent scare. “That's kind of scary.”
Tacoma Water thinks old pipes called goosenecks might be to blame for the high levels of lead. They found another one in a neighborhood yesterday, and immediately replaced it with a new copper pipe. But Tacoma Water says goosenecks might still be in use in 1700 places around the city. Today crews tried to reach out to the homeowners who might be at risk.
“For those customers that potentially have a gooseneck, what we're asking them to do is run their water,” says division manager Tony Lindgren. “Basically flush that stagnant water out of their pipe, and then they'll be good to go to cook and clean and drink their water.”
Metro Parks doesn’t believe any goosenecks are in use at their sites. But since children are most at risk for health complications from lead poisoning, they are now collecting samples from all their water fountains to make sure it’s safe for drinking.
Opele is glad they’re being cautious.
“I watch a lot of what my kid’s intake, especially water. That's our big thing at our house. We don't have nothing else but water,” she says. “Now I just want to look into it, to see if the lead problem is everywhere.”
The water samples collected by Metro Parks staff is being sent to Spectra Labs in Tacoma. They’re expecting the first round of results by Wednesday, May 4.