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What is lead and why is it a problem?

Lead is a common metal found in air, soil, household dust, and water. It is also found in consumer products, some types of food, pottery, pewter and lead-based paint. If inhaled or swallowed, lead can build up in the body. If too much lead enters the body, it can damage the brain, nervous system, red blood cells, and kidneys. Children, infants, and pregnant women are at greater risk.

How does lead get into household water?

The most likely sources of lead in your household water are lead pipes, lead solder, or brass fixtures in your plumbing. Lead water services were installed in Saint Paul homes built before 1926 and in some homes built between 1942 and 1947. Usually, lead gets into your water after it leaves your local treatment plant.

What is SPRWS doing about lead?

• Treatment
• Testing
• Replacing lead service lines
• Offering free lead testing
• Investigating complaints

To reduce leaching of lead from lead service lines or lead solder in the home, we treat our water to produce a small amount of scale to the pipes by adjusting the pH levels and alkalinity levels. Our treatment and testing processes are in strict compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act, Minnesota Department of Health, and Environmental Protection Agency guidelines.

What can you do about lead?

• Confirm whether you have a lead service by looking up your address in our service material map, calling SPRWS engineering at 651-266-6270, or performing a "scratch test" on the pipes leading to your water meter.
• Have your water tested for lead for free by picking up and returning a collection bottle from our customer service staff at 1900 Rice St, St Paul MN, 55113.
• If you have a lead service, consider replacing it. We offer a voluntary assessment program for Saint Paul residents that allows for the costs of lead service replacement to be collected through property taxes. For more information on the assessment program, refer to our lead replacement packet (PDF - 396 KB) or call our engineering service desk at 651-266-6270.
• If you have a lead service and are unable to replace it due to financial or other reasons, take proactive steps to reduce your risk: don't drink water that has collected in your plumbing for more than 6 hours, flush faucets with cold water for 3-5 minutes, use cold water for cooking/drinking/making baby formula, clean faucet aerators at least once per month, or treat your water using a pitcher or filtration system that is NSF certified for lead. 

More Information About Lead

Lead Free SPRWS    Lead and Household Water

What are PFAS and why are they a problem?

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, is an umbrella term for a family of thousands of synthetic organic compounds. They are created in a lab; they are not found in nature/naturally occurring. They were used in non-stick cooking pans (Teflon), fire-fighting foams, and a variety of other items. Two PFAS that are most often found in finished drinking water (perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)) are legacy compounds that are no longer manufactured, but are still being found in the environment. Research involving humans suggests that high levels of certain PFAS may lead to negative health impacts such as increased cholesterol, increased risk of certain types of cancer, and changes in liver enzymes. Pregnant women and children may be at elevated risk for health complications related to PFAS.

How do PFAS get into household water?

Household water can be a source of exposure in communities where PFAS have contaminated water supplies. Such contamination is typically localized and associated with contamination from a specific facility, for example:

• An industrial facility where PFAS were produced or used to manufacture other products
• An oil refinery, airfield or other location at which PFAS were used for firefighting

What is SPRWS doing about PFAS?

• Coordinating testing with Minnesota Department of Health, Environmental Protection Agency, and others
• Investigating new treatment methods that could be effective in removing PFAS

Saint Paul Regional Water Services tested for PFAS in 2005, 2007, 2013, and 2014. These tests showed SPRWS has consistently been under the laboratory test methods’ reporting limit.  This means that prior to 2015, the concentration of the unregulated compounds was below the sensitivity of the testing instruments and cannot be confidently quantified and therefore is reported as non-detectable.

In late 2019, in conjunction with the Minnesota Department of Health and United States Geological Survey, we conducted additional tests for PFAS to provide more current results with improved sampling and testing procedures. Those results were all well below the health risk limit and health based limits established for drinking water by the Minnesota Department of Health. A person drinking water with a contaminant at or below the comparison value would be at little or no risk for harmful health effects.  

As part of our testing of drinking water, we monitor for contaminants; both regulated and unregulated. Detection alone of a contaminant should not cause concern. The meaning of any detection should be determined considering current health effects information. We are often still learning about the health effects and improving testing techniques, so this information can change over time. Because these contaminants are unregulated, no particular actions are required based on detection.

What can you do about PFAS?

The best way to keep drinking water safe is to protect it at its source. SPRWS encourages customers to reach out to federal and state legislatures about using existing laws and establishing new laws to understand and control PFAS risks before harmful substances are introduced.

We think those companies producing PFAS–not consumers and water utilities–should be liable for cleaning up drinking water and environments that have been affected by PFAS. Removal of these chemicals from drinking water is costly and often requires installation of new treatment processes.

More Information about PFAS

According to the Minnesota Department of Health:

• We do NOT have evidence of harm to human health from exposure to PFAS at the current levels found in Minnesotans’ drinking water at this time. The new drinking water guidance represents an increased focus on safety and prevention.
• Municipal drinking water continues to be as safe as, or safer than, purchased drinking water. Purchasing drinking water has other negative consequences, including cost, increased trash burden, and heavy use of fossil fuels to transport water.

The Minnesota Department of Health has additional information about PFAS in drinking water:

PFAS Overview and Resources

PFAS Monitoring

PFAS and Health (PDF - 280 KB)

No evidence of Cryptosporidium or Giardia has been found in our water system.

EPA Guidelines and Testing

In 1996, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) adopted a new Information Collection Rule (ICR), which provides guidelines for testing Cryptosporidium parvum, a disease-causing parasite, which has made headlines in several U.S. cities over the years. The ICR also requires testing for viruses and Giardia Lamblia, another parasite capable of causing gastrointestinal disease. The testing effort is part of a national initiative that includes about 300 community water systems that use surface water, from lakes or rivers, and provide water to more than 100,000 people.

In Minnesota, only Minneapolis and Saint Paul are part of the testing initiative. However, despite recent improvements, current tests for Cryptosporidium in water still aren’t completely reliable. For example, if the parasite is present in the water only intermittently, a test taken at the wrong time could miss it and give people a false sense of security. Also, if the parasite is found, there is no way to tell if the organisms are viable and capable of causing disease. Moreover, it is not known at what level of contamination the organism is capable of causing illness. Thus, if Cryptosporidium is found, each situation must be assessed individually.

The testing done according to EPA guidelines, is an effort to identify the safest and most effective techniques for removing potential disease-causing contaminants from the water delivered to customers. It will help the EPA determine the optimal mix of filtration technologies and chemical disinfection methods.

What is SPRWS doing about these contaminants?

Routine chemical disinfection methods like chlorination will not destroy Cryptosporidium, but effective filtration systems can greatly reduce the risk that people will be exposed to the parasite. SPRWS has taken steps to ensure that its treatment and filtration system is operating at maximum effectiveness at all times. SPRWS is currently using the best available filtration technology as part of the water treatment process. Moreover, SPRWS has greatly improved the pretreatment process in the source water reservoirs as well as the treatment process prior to the filtration step.

What is Legionella and why is it a problem?

Legionella is a type of bacterium found naturally in freshwater environments, like lakes and streams. In this environment, it rarely causes illness. It can become a health concern when it grows and spreads in human-made water systems such as:

• Hot tubs that aren’t maintained properly
• Hot water tanks and heaters that aren’t kept at hot enough levels
• Large plumbing systems, like those found in large, multi-story buildings
• Cooling towers that are used for air conditioning in large buildings (not residential home and car air conditioning units that do not use water to cool the air)
• Decorative fountains
• Temporary water mains in warm weather that are not flushed regularly

Legionella can cause a type of serious lung infection called Legionnaires’ disease, a form of pneumonia.

More information about Legionnaire's disease from the CDC

Water is extracted from the Mississippi River in Fridley and flows through a chain of lakes and conduits before reaching out treatment plant in Maplewood. In addition to the natural filtration that happens in the lakes, we treat water in the lakes through oxygenation and the addition of ferric chloride to reduce algae growth. The amount of chemicals to used at the treatment plant is determined by the source water’s characteristics.

Mixing Basins

Water enters our treatment plant into two rapid mixers. Lime is added for softening and aluminum sulfate is added as a primary coagulant. Chemical reactions begin to change hardness compounds in the water from soluble to insoluble precipitates called “floc.” Floc absorbs color and entangles bacteria and other suspended matter. As the floc settles, the hardness is reduced, resulting in finished water hardness of about five grains per gallon (90 parts per million).

Flocculators

Water then passes through three basins called flocculators. Large, motor-driven paddles rotate slowly, causing the floc to come into contact with all suspended matter. The long, narrow basins ensure that the softening and coagulation agents have sufficient time to complete the chemical reaction and prevent the floc from settling. Ferric chloride is added as a flocculant aid. 

Clarifiers

From the flocculators, the water enters into one of five clarifiers. Here, the velocity of the water is reduced, allowing the floc to settle rapidly to the bottom and the clear water to flow over the top of the basin. The settled floc is called spent lime and eventually flows to the dewatering plant, where the solids are separated and the remaining water content is recycled to the plant. The solid lime is trucked out for agricultural use.

Recarbonation

As the water flows out of the clarifiers, it enters the recarbonation basin. Carbon dioxide gas is added to lower the pH of the water. Fluoride is also added in this chamber, which improves dental health. 

Filtration

Water is then distributed to 24 filter units. Each filter has a filter media bed consisting of 36 inches of granular activated carbon (GAC) on top of 4 inches of sand. Gravity pushes water through the filter and any remaining particulate matter is trapped in the filter. These filters remove particles as small as protozoa, and as such, provide a barrier against organisms such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia. The GAC filter media also remove taste and odor compounds from the water, helping it taste better. Filtered water is collected from the bottom of each filter and routed to the disinfection step.

Disinfection

Chlorine is then added to kill bacteria and virus. Free chlorine is in contact with the water for a period of time; then ammonia is added to react with the chlorine. This combined chlorine/ammonia compound is called chloramine. Chloramine is more stable than free chlorine, and allows for disinfectant to remain in the water even at the far reaches of our distribution system. Chloramine is also less likely to form unwanted disinfection by-products.

The water from the Mississippi River, the lake system, and the water entering the plant, are continuously subjected to bacteriological, biological, physical, and chemical analyses. All analysis is done by professional laboratory staff to determine the treatment required for softening and disinfection. Determination is also made on if the utility’s watershed restoration strategies are controlling algae effectively. Factors that may lead to deterioration of water quality are disclosed, and preventative measures are taken.

Taste and Odor Panel

Saint Paul Regional Water Services has convened a “Taste and Odor Panel” once a week since 1994. The panel of utility employees uses samples of both source water and treated water for detection of unwanted odors and smells. The origins of the samples are not known to the panel members. This process can give the utility’s laboratory advance warning of any problems in the water system.

Federal Surface Water Treatment Rules

Before the finished water leaves the plant, analyzers ensure compliance with the federal Surface Water Treatment Rules. The water in our distribution system is routinely examined for chlorine residual and bacteriological content in accordance with standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Minnesota Department of Health.