The Next Flint or Just Hot Air? Officials in Syracuse Clash with Community Groups over Lead in Drinking Water

Residents in the City of Syracuse continue to face uncertainty regarding whether their drinking water is safe after a routine sampling event earlier this year identified alarming levels of lead above the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) action levels.  

In August, the City disclosed that a quarter of homes tested had lead levels above the EPA’s action level of 15 parts per billion (ppb).  In several cases, the levels detected far exceeded the EPA action level. 

The results captured the attention of the National Resource Defense Counsel (NRDC), who has argued that the detections of lead in drinking water are worse than those identified during the Flint water crisis from 2014-2016 in Flint, Michigan, and has demanded that the City declare a state of emergency. 

But follow up sampling later showed much lower levels than the sampling event that had raised alarm in August.  For those homes that had previously shown elevated levels, only two of the 27 homes had levels above 15 ppb in the resampling event. 

City officials have pointed to the latest round of testing as proof that the results disclosed in August “were outliers” and that the calls for a state of emergency are inappropriate.  The NRDC and several local community groups are not convinced though, claiming that the City’s explanation for the elevated samples do not hold water.

Meanwhile, caught between the competing narratives, concerned residents are left wondering whether their water is safe to drink.  

Lead in Drinking Water

This blog has previously touched on the hazards of lead exposure.  Lead is a highly toxic metal that can impact brain development in children, kidney function in adults, and it interferes with the production of red blood cells that carry oxygen to all parts of the human body.  According to EPA, lead in drinking water irreparably harms children and adults. 

Lead pipes were initially installed in cities decades ago because they were cheaper and more malleable.  But lead in piping can corrode, causing lead to leach into drinking water. 

In 1986, the federal government banned the installation of new lead pipes.  Homes built before 1986 are therefore more likely to have plumbing containing lead.

EPA estimates that up to 9 million homes and businesses are still connected to water mains through legacy lead pipes.  EPA has stated that these remaining lead pipes are disproportionately concentrated in low-income communities and communities of color.  Most at risk are often people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, daycares, or businesses where they have no familiarity or access to the structure’s plumbing. 

The Regulation of Lead in Drinking Water

The Safe Drinking Water Act is the primary federal law that regulates contaminants in drinking water.  The Act requires EPA to determine the level of contaminants in drinking water at which no adverse health effects are likely to occur with an adequate margin of safety.  These are aspirational, unenforceable health goals known as “maximum contaminant level goals,” or MCLGs.  The MCLG for lead is zero.  EPA believes there is no safe level of exposure to lead.

For most contaminants but not lead, EPA sets an enforceable limit called a maximum contaminant level (MCL), which is as close to the MCLG as possible, while accounting for cost, benefits, and the ability of public water systems to detect and remove the contaminants.

Lead in drinking water is treated differently than most contaminants under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Because lead contamination often results from corrosion of plumbing materials belonging to water customers, EPA established a treatment technique rather than an MCL for lead. 

The treatment technique regulation for lead, which is known as the Lead and Copper Rule, requires water systems to control the corrosivity of the water. 

The Lead and Copper Rule also requires public water systems to collect tap samples from areas served by the system that are more likely to have plumbing materials containing lead.  Under the current iteration of the Rule (which has since been amended, see discussion below), if more than 10 percent of the tap water samples exceed the lead “action level” of 15 ppb, then water systems must take additional action, such as improving corrosion control, educating the public, and replacing portions of lead service lines.

It was during this routine sampling that Syracuse detected and reported elevated concentrations of lead in August 2024.

Lead Sampling in Syracuse

In August 2024, the City of Syracuse issued a drinking water public notice, reporting historically high levels of lead, with more than 25% of homes tested showing levels above the EPA action level.  One sample was 2,520 ppb, according to the Washington Post, while several other samples showed levels of lead well above 150 ppb.[1] 

In the initial public notice, City Officials attributed the elevated levels to the “lead service lines feeding these homes and lead fittings and/or solder in the home’s internal plumbing.”[2]  The City’s water supply, which comes from Skaneateles Lake, is free of lead. 

A follow-up round of testing showed levels well below those reported in August, however. City Officials stated that the results of the follow-up testing were in line with roughly a decades’ worth of sampling data that showed the drinking water was safe.  City Officials stated that the results disclosed in August were “outliers,” and that the “[d]ata does not support the conclusion of an emergency situation or comparisons to other U.S. cities,” presumably meaning Flint, Michigan.[3] 

Questions Linger for the Community

City Officials have denied that there was any change in corrosivity treatment for the City’s water system that might have caused a spike in lead levels.  According to the City’s water department, the City treats its water with an additive known as orthophosphate which is known to be effective in creating a barrier between any lead pipes and the water.  Treatment with the additive has remained steady and does not explain the spike in lead detections, according to City Officials.[4]

Rather, the City has pointed the finger at certain City employees who the City claims failed to follow EPA sampling methodologies for the samples reported in August.  In several cases, for example, samples were taken from outdoor garden hoses, rather than tap water from indoors.  Federal and state officials typically recommend against drinking from garden hoses because they can leach contaminants.  The full nature and extent of the alleged sampling errors have not yet been disclosed.

Some question whether the water is safe to drink despite the City’s explanation.  A representative of NRDC, for example, has stated that “[a] [f]inding that the test samples were improperly taken by city employees from the wrong tap doesn’t prove that water is safe from lead.”  

The NRDC has also recently made available a map for the City of Syracuse, which graphically depicts lead-monitoring data compiled from the past two years.  NRDC states that the compilation of the data as reflected in the map shows that “lead contamination is significant and found across neighborhoods throughout Syracuse.”  

A rally was held outside City Hall in Syracuse on November 12, 2024 in response to concerns in the community.  Following the rally, City Officials continued to insist that the City’s drinking water is safe.[5] 

New Lead and Copper Rule Improvements

The events in Syracuse unfolded just as the EPA finished tightening its Lead and Copper Rule governing lead in drinking water.

On October 8, 2024, the EPA issued a final rule updating the Lead and Cooper Rule.  The new Rule requires drinking water systems to identify and replace lead service lines under their control within 10 years regardless of the lead levels occurring in drinking water samples. 

A lead service line is deemed to be “under the control” of a public water supplier whenever the water system has a legal or physical right to access the service line, which can include lead service lines on a homeowner’s property.  Public water systems are required to make a reasonable effort to obtain property owner consent before replacing service lines on private property.

Water systems need to create an inventory of lead service lines and a service line replacement plan that prioritizes replacement in areas disproportionately impacted by lead.  The inventory and replacement plans must be made available to the public.  

The City of Syracuse has made its inventory available to the public online, although several areas of the City are currently identified as “status unknown.”

The new Rule also requires more rigorous testing of drinking water and a lower threshold requiring communities to take action to protect people from lead exposure in water.  Specifically, the new rule lowers the action level from 15 ppb to 10 ppb but does not become effective until 2027.  As discussed above, when a water systems’ lead sampling exceeds the action level, the water system must take action to reduce lead exposure while working to expeditiously replace all lead pipes.  The lower action level will likely require more water systems to take immediate action when lead sampling results are elevated.

Conclusion

City Officials in Syracuse have stated that they are in the process of replacing lead service lines, and that the City is on track to remove all lead service lines before EPA’s 10-year deadline.  

Yet for community groups and residents with lingering concerns about the alarming August 2024 lead sampling results, 10 years is far too long to wait. 

[1] “Confusion mounts in another U.S. city grappling with lead in its taps,” Washington Post, Nov. 1, 2024, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/11/01/syracuse-lead-tap-water-contamination/

[2]  City of Syracuse, Drinking Water Public Notice, Lead Sampling August 2024 Updated, available at https://www.syr.gov/files/sharedassets/public/v/1/2-departments/water/documents/leadinwaternotice_updated_8-30-24.pdf

[3] “Syracuse, N.Y. has double the levels of lead in the water than Flint, Michigan, NRDC says,” CBS News, Oct. 17, 2024, available at https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/syracuse-ny-lead-in-water/

[4] https://www.syr.gov/files/sharedassets/public/v/1/2-departments/water/documents/lead-public-notice_-city-of-syracuse-final.pdf

[5] “‘Syracuse’s drinking water is safe’: City double downs on lead level safety in water following rally,” NewsChannel 9, Nov. 12, 2024, available at https://www.localsyr.com/news/local-news/syracuses-drinking-water-is-safe-city-double-downs-on-lead-level-safety-in-water-following-rally/