Lead concentrations in the tap water of one Gloucester home have risen above recommended levels since the city began treating its drinking water with chloramine in July, tests commissioned by an anti-chloramine group have found.
The home, on Leonard Street in Annisquam, was showing no detectable lead dissolved in its tap water when the first tests were performed July 1.
But by Aug. 9, when the second round of tests were performed, the home was showing .034 milligrams of lead per liter of water, exceeding the .015 milligrams per liter of lead that are the maximum level recommended safe by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. The drinking water of 15 other homes tested by the group came back well within allowable limits.
Commissioned by the group Gloucester Citizens Concerned about Chloramines, the tests were performed on samples taken by volunteer homeowners and conducted by Biomarine, the East Main Street company that performs city water tests.
"What this does is raise concerns about what our group talked about, that when chloramine is added to the water, it does raise lead levels in the water," said Pat Murphy, a local nurse and organizer Gloucester Citizens Concerned about Chloramines. It just reinforces the concern and the need to respond in whatever ways are appropriate."
Gloucester began using chloramines as a disinfectant this summer after a bacteria outbreak last year forced a 20-day boil order.
Chloramine, a mixture of chlorine and ammonia, is more resilient and longer lasting then straight chlorine. The state Department of Environmental Protection, which regulates water systems, swears by chloramine disinfection and made it clear to the city after the boil order that a switch was all but inevitable.
But in many areas around the country, the use of chloramines have been met with suspicion by residents concerned that not enough is known about their side effects.
One of the concerns is that chloramine causes lead to leach out of pipes and into the water they carry. Lead is known to cause numerous negative health effects in humans, including neurological problems, when consumed in high doses.
Reacting to the private test results Tuesday, Gloucester water compliance officer Larry Durkin said that, even if the results are accurate, it is too soon to tell if the switch to chloramines caused the one high result.
"Although obviously I am not happy with one high number, the good news is most of the results are fine," Durkin said. "(The lead) is not in the water system. It is locally based."
Even if the samples taken by Citizens Concerned about Chloramines had been official, they would not have brought the city water system out of compliance, because of the low levels of lead at the other sites.
Durkin said he had already called the owner of the home in Annisquam and the city would investigate what caused the high lead reading.
As part of its state-monitored water testing regimen, Gloucester tests for lead as well as other metals such as copper. The first tests since the switch to chloramine were taken last week and results are expected back on Thursday.
Conscious about the sensitivity to chloramines and the lead problems in other cities, such as Washington D.C., Gloucester was conscious to avoid high acidity in its newly chlorimanated water. Durkin said the city also plans to add an extra corrosion inhibitor to the water this fall.
The residents of the Annisquam house could not be reached Tuesday. As a condition for releasing the test results, Gloucester Citizens Concerned about Chloramines asked that their name and address not be released. The house has been described as an older property.
Before presenting her group's findings to City Council Tuesday, Murphy said the purpose of the private testing was not to cause panic, but to keep the city aware of its water disinfection issues.
"We don't want people to get overly alarmed that this is a major problem," Murphy said But we need to look into this and work with it," Murphy said. "Even with modifications that they did to the system and things that have been learned, the problems still happen and do happen."
Patrick Anderson can be reached at 978-283-7000, x3455, or panderson@gloucestertimes.com.
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