Syracuse families and advocacy groups say they have new, independent findings showing the city is not properly testing for and remediating lead in its drinking water.
Three months ago this week groups urged the city to do more to address the lead water crisis. This time, they provided expert analysis they say backs up their claim charging the city of using faulty testing procedures to generate lower lead levels and minimize any perceived threat. Oceanna Fair with Families for Lead Freedom Now said the city avoided testing the worst homes, therefore their results are incomplete and misleading.
“The community cannot trust the city’s statements without scientifically valid evidence," Fair said. "The gaps in information thus far provided no reason for the community members to have confidence in assurances made by the water, utility officials.”
The Walsh administration's Chief Policy Officer Greg Loh defended the city's protocol.
“All of our sampling protocols are developed and reviewed with the oversight of county and state health department regulators," Loh said.
That includes federal rules, too, which Loh said refutes the groups allegations of mismanagement, misrepresentation, and avoidance. In fact, he said, the city is ready to set aside $25 million to begin replacing nearly 2,800 lead service lines in the coming year.
“Any suggestion that the city is in any way moving slowly just are untrue," Loh said. "We recognize that lead service lines need to be eliminated across the city and we're developing and implementing plans to do that twice as fast as the current EPA requirement.”
Loh said they hope to replace pipes at more than 14,000 homes in five years at their current pace. Still, Oceanna Fair says it’s of little comfort when children are affected by lead everywhere they go.
“They are breathing in lead at home, through lead dust and paint. They go to school, and their water fountains at school have not all been replaced, and there are high levels of lead in the water at school," Fair said. "Then they come home and they open up their taps for a simple drink of water, and they are affected again by lead. When do our children get relief?”
The groups say they’ve been pressuring the city school district to address the issue since 2019. They acknowledge, though, that lead water issues aren’t unique to Syracuse or its schools.
