NEWARK — An investigation into the city’s nationally heralded replacement of lead water service lines found that of 90 residences examined so far, 12 still contained lead components, the state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner said on Wednesday, March 20.
DEP Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette, in a livestreamed update with Mayor Ras J. Baraka, said they found the lead components between Jan. 19 to March 20 and will continue their audit in the coming weeks. The concern follows the city's replacement of about 23,000 pipes in three years. Who is responsible for the faulty replacements has not been made public.
“We’re undertaking this audit so that we can verify that full replacements were done because, in some instances, we found a remaining lead component on the street side,” LaTourette said.
The update follows the revelation in February that lead service lines had not been fully replaced at three of the four properties initially examined, something officials blamed on an unidentified “third party” vendor who they said did not properly complete the work.
Investigators found the lead components between the curb and the water main, LaTourette said.
Kareem Adeem, the director of Newark’s water and sewer department, said the city is replacing the lead components at no cost to the property owners. The party or parties that failed to complete the work have put up performance bonds from which the city will draw to fund the work, he said.
“During those 90 excavations, the minute we find a lead component, we immediately or within a day or two, remove that lead component,” Adeem said.
‘VIOLATION OF OUR TRUST’
Yvette Jordan, chairperson of the Newark Education Workers Caucus, which was one of the plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit settled in 2021 with a requirement that the city continue lead service-line remediation, wants to know who is responsible for the incomplete replacements.
“I’m pleased that the DEP and City of Newark are working together to ascertain where there is still lead in the water service lines,” Jordan told TAPinto Newark. “I wait, with the rest of our city, to learn where this emanated from and who’s responsible for this violation of our trust.”
Officials did not take questions during the online update and, at a City Council meeting held less than two hours later, Adeem reiterated some of the talking points from the online briefing but said he was limited in the details he could share.
There are grave potential health consequences of lead poisoning, particularly for pregnant people, infants and young children. These include immune system dysfunction, kidney failure and hearing loss that can happen as a result of prolonged exposure through the water supply.
IS CITY WATER SAFE?
Afterward, Council President LaMonica McIver said the unidentified third-party vendor must be held accountable for the incomplete replacements. McIver also said she is confident in the quality of the city's water because of a system-wide chemical process known as corrosion control.
“It's working properly,” McIver said. “It's stopping lead from coming into the water no matter what.”
In the video update, LaTourette described that process, which has zinc orthophosphate added into the water.
“There is a layer of protection that collects on the pipes and protects lead from loosening and seeping into your drinking water,” he said.
HOW DO I GET MY WATER TESTED?
Despite officials' assertions that city water is safe to drink, Newark and DEP officials said, residents can contact the water and sewer department at 973-733- 6303 and waterandsewer@ci.newark.nj.us for assistance with testing their water.
“There’s no specific action that is required. However, if you’re concerned, and you want to have your water tested, Kareem and his team will help you with that,” LaTourette said.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The DEP commissioner promised to share additional information as the investigation unfolds.
“The audit will continue over the next several weeks well into the month of April, and perhaps beyond,” LaTourette said. “And as that audit comes to completion, we’ll be able to provide more information to Newarkers.”
]]>NEWARK, NJ — Authorities are investigating a “third party” involved in the replacement of lead water service lines for errors that may have left the toxic element in some of the lines, the state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner said on Tuesday, Feb. 6.
DEP Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette told reporters that the state agency and the city would audit lead water service lines that were replaced citywide to ensure that no lead was left in those lines.
“This is not a cause for panic," LaTourette said. "The DEP and the city of Newark will do their job to ensure that we conduct the audit and make sure that all lead service lines to be replaced in full, in fact, have been replaced in full.”
Officials held the impromptu news conference just hours after Mayor Ras J. Baraka’s comments on the errors made during a closed-session meeting of the City Council were inadvertently streamed on YouTube.
At the news conference, Baraka said that between Jan. 9 and Feb. 1 the state and city conducted an initial audit, which found that in three of the four properties surveyed, lead components were found on the street side between the curb and the water main.
MORE: Lead Left in Some Replaced Newark Water Pipes, Mayor Says in Executive Session
“These remaining lead components were immediately replaced by our team that day, as soon as they were found,” Baraka said. “Newark and NJDEP will continue this audit over the next several weeks and, during this time, some Newark residents may be contacted to participate in the inspections.”
Citing an investigation, officials did not reveal the name of the “third party,” who they said did not properly carry out the lead-line replacements.
“Our entire water enforcement team are in the midst of this investigation,” LaTourette said. “I cannot disclose to you the sources of that information. It would be inappropriate of me to do so at this point, but as soon as I can, I will.”
Citing the residents’ privacy, officials also did not disclose the four addresses at which the lines were tested. It remains unclear how many properties were impacted or where those properties are located, the commissioner said.
“We do not know the exact confines yet,” LaTourette said. “Our initial investigation is being undertaken with respect to a small number of properties.”
If the testing implies that more properties are impacted, he said, “Then we would pursue further investigation in that direction as well. It is an unknown at this time exactly where these circumstances are present.”
Speaking separately, Newark Water Coalition Executive Director Anthony Diaz said the city is being transparent only because the mayor’s comments from the executive session were inadvertently made public.
“I’m sad about this." Diaz said. "A lot of people hold Newark up as the model for lead service line replacements, so one of my criticisms as we were replacing these lines was: are we sure we’re doing it the right way?”
He said he would like to know the third party’s name along with what residences have been impacted. The Water Coalition, he said, was formed in part because people do not have faith in their local government and know they can receive resources from the coalition.
“It also speaks to the fact of having qualified people fill these roles and these positions to have the job done right the first time, and how much money is Newark going to spend going back over this?” he asked, adding, “Newark plans to increase its water rates.”
LaTourette, however, said that because Newark’s water is treated through a process known as “corrosion control” — a process that minimizes the deterioration of foreign materials such as lead into the water — the public should feel their drinking water is safe.
“They can have confidence in the water that they receive because corrosion control is functioning irrespective of the fact that Newark had engaged in this gargantuan undertaking to replace all lead service lines in a record-low time.”
Yvette Jordan, chairperson of the Newark Education Workers Caucus, which was one of the plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit settled in 2021 with a requirement that the city continue lead service line remediation, said the Caucus is thankful details of the executive session were shared publicly.
Jordan also wants to know more.
“There is no safe level of lead,” Jordan said. “The health concerns are real, and for educators, we’re concerned, of course, about our students, who are affected by this on a daily basis.”
This is not the first time the Baraka administration's handling of information surrounding Newark's lead water problems has been called into question.
In December 2018, it was revealed that the city was planning to spend up to $225,500 to hire a public relations firm to help disperse information to the media and residents concerning elevated lead levels in water and combat the social media blitz from groups that were suing Newark over the issue.
In August 2019, the Baraka administration turned away TV cameras and reporters from a lead water-related meeting at City Hall it had blasted out in a press release the day before. The meeting had been pegged as an opportunity for Newark residents to sign up as volunteers to inform others about how to replace affected lead service lines shortly after the city secured a $120 million loan from Essex County.
Renewed concerns about lead contamination of Newark's water supply come during a time when infrastructure will be tested by Newark's ongoing redevelopment. There could also be increased focus on Newark's affairs with reports that Baraka is considering a run for New Jersey governor.
LaTourette told reporters he was not aware of similar issues in other parts of the state, but that not all the water systems have been fully checked for lead lines in the way Newark’s have.
How did the errors happen?
“This occurred because somebody didn’t do their job,” LaTourette said. “And you can be sure that the mayor and I will find that somebody and hold them fully accountable.”
]]>NEWARK, NJ — In a closed-door meeting with Mayor Ras J. Baraka on Tuesday, Feb. 6, City Council members learned that lead remained in some water service lines that were thought to have been fully replaced.
In the executive session, a brief portion of which was inadvertently streamed on YouTube, Baraka said the information came to light during a state Department of Environmental Protection audit conducted in coordination with the city.
“Based on a third party, who was doing work for the city, we had got information that they may not have completed all that they wanted to complete in terms of lead service lines,” Baraka said. “That they may have left a little lead fixture of the pipe in with the copper. They may have changed from the house all the way to the curb, and you get to the main, and you have left some lead there.”
New Jersey Investigating 'Third Party Errors in Newark Lead Line Replacements
A recording of part of the meeting was provided to TAPinto Newark, a reporter for which was in attendance for the public portion.
Baraka, who does not typically attend City Council meetings, said that about a quarter of the homes that were audited were impacted; he did not say how many homes in total. The city will call residents and will send letters, which are expected to arrive by the end of the week, Baraka said.
There are grave potential health consequences to lead poisoning. Immune system dysfunction, kidney failure and hearing loss are among the possible symptoms of prolonged exposure to lead, including through the water supply.
Baraka prefaced his remarks by saying that even information shared in the closed session meeting could be made public through the state’s Open Public Records Act, or OPRA.
“That’s about as much as I can say. This is still OPRA-able, and I’ve been in depositions where executive sessions have been raised, so I have to be careful based on instructions from our lawyers to speak carefully,” Baraka said.
Baraka’s communication to the council about the water pipes was first reported by NJ Globe.
Pregnant women and young children are most at risk from lead exposure. Exposure to high levels of lead before and during pregnancy can cause premature birth, low birth weight, miscarriage, and problems with the development of a baby’s brain and nervous system, among other issues.
The closed-session meeting lasted for nearly an hour. Council President LaMonica McIver, who announced the executive session, did not publicly state the reason for excluding the public from the meeting.
Walter Luers, an attorney who is a partner at the law firm of Cohn Lifland Pearlman Herrmann & Knopf LLP, said that in terms of transparency, information about an important public health issue such as lead contamination in the water supply should be relayed to the public as quickly as possible.
“Legal issues and legal liability are the types of matters that belong in closed session. But if there is an ongoing problem with lead in the water, then it is harmful if they don't address the situation publicly when there still is a problem," said Luers, who focuses on access to public records and public meetings. “This is Exhibit A regarding why people don't trust municipal governments.”
In 2018, a lawsuit from the Newark Education Workers Caucus, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Newark Water Coalition demanded the city distribute bottled water to residents, treat water with corrosion inhibitors and replace old lead lines.
A distribution of water filters went awry when the filters first given to residents by the city failed and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered the city to hand out bottled water. Officials pushed the use of new filters in October 2019 and ended free water distribution.
Newark has replaced more than 17,000 lead lines through a $120 million loan in August 2019 from Essex County. Leading up to its collaboration with Essex County, the Baraka administration was beleaguered by lead levels as high as 57 ppb, failing to meet federal lead and copper rule standards for six consecutive periods between 2017 and 2019.
The lawsuit was resolved in 2021, with the settlement requiring Newark to continue its ongoing progress on lead service line remediation, provide free water testing and other measures.
In a statement posted to social media following the news report, Newark's director of water and sewer utilities, Kareem Adeem, said the initial inspections were conducted at four properties between Jan. 19 and Feb. 1. The audit will continue over the next few weeks, he said.
“Newark has demonstrated compliance with the federal lead and copper rule,” Adeem said. “Unless you are contacted by Newark to participate in an inspection of your service line, there is nothing you need to do at this time.”
Check back for updates on this developing story.
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