Varnarsdale residents recently received phone a phone, text, or e-mail notification relating to the Varnarsdale Water System.
During recent testing, drinking water samples collected from some properties in your community exceeded the action level for lead (15 parts per billion). If your home was tested, and lead was detected at or above the action level, you will be notified by Blue Granite Water separately.
Blue Granite Water is responding to these reported lead levels, but please know that lead is not present in the water that we provide. Homes and buildings that have lead, galvanized or brass water service lines or fixtures, or those with solder, can have lead enter the drinking water through the corrosion of these plumbing materials.
Samples are collected by customers within their residences and these samples must be collected under strict protocols set by federal and state regulators. Deviations from these procedures may cause a false-positive result.
Please note that not all homes and businesses in your community were tested, and your property may not have lead, galvanized, or brass plumbing. If you know your service line materials or want to learn about them, please go to this website to complete a questionnaire: www.myutility.us/bluegranitewater/water-safety/lead-lead-service-lines/lead-service-line-survey.
More information about lead levels can be found on our website at www.myutility.us/bluegranitewater/water-safety/lead-lead-service-lines/lead-service-lines. Additional information in this communication is provided following U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines, and we ask that you please read it closely. If you have further questions, please contact a member of our team at 1-800-367-4314.
Background Information
In the Varnarsdale water system of Blue Granite Water Company, random sampling found possible elevated levels of lead in the drinking water at some homes/buildings. Some homes and buildings may have service lines or plumbing fixtures with lead components, which may corrode and cause lead to enter the water. There are no sources of lead in the Blue Granite Water Company treatment or distribution system.
What Does This Mean?
Under the authority of the Safe Drinking Water Act, the EPA set the action level for lead in drinking water at 15 parts per billion. The action level is the concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements that a water system must follow. If the water, as sampled from the customer’s tap, exceeds this limit, then the utility must take certain steps to address the problem. If detected, this lead may be due to conditions inside your home, such as the presence of lead solder or brass faucets and fittings that may contain lead. Lead is rarely found in source water but enters tap water through corrosion of plumbing materials. Homes built before 1986 are more likely to have these types of fixtures.
What Happened? What is Being Done?
On February 25, 2025, Blue Granite Water Company (BGWC) received notification that some samples of your water system had exceeded the 90th percentile for lead in drinking water. There is no source of lead within our Varnarsdale water system or piping. As a result, we believe the lead that was detected is most likely coming from individual customers’ plumbing. Lead enters drinking water primarily due to the corrosion of materials containing lead in the water service lines and household plumbing. This does not mean that every property in this water system has lead in its drinking water.
Blue Granite is focused on protecting the health of our community and therefore we are taking additional steps in response to these results. These include additional monitoring of water quality parameters, additional monitoring of our source water, and initiating further controls to reduce the corrosivity of our water (corrosive water can cause lead to leach from plumbing materials that contain lead). We will continue regularly flushing the system to protect water quality.
What are the Health Effects of Lead?
Exposure to lead in drinking water can cause serious health effects in all age groups. Infants and children can have decreases in IQ and attention span. Lead exposure can cause new learning and behavior problems or exacerbate existing learning and behavior problems. The children of women who are exposed to lead before or during pregnancy can have an increased risk of these adverse health effects. Adults can have increased risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney, or nervous system problems.
Lead is a common metal found in the environment. The main sources of lead exposure to individuals are lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust or soil, and certain plumbing materials. In addition, lead can be found in certain types of pottery, pewter, brass fixtures, food, and cosmetics. Other sources include exposure in the workplace and from certain hobbies.
Most sources of drinking water have no lead or exceptionally low levels of lead. Most lead gets into drinking water after the water leaves the utility’s well or treatment plant and encounters household plumbing materials that contain lead. The EPA estimates that 10 to 20 percent of a person’s total exposure to lead may come from drinking water. Infants who consume mostly formula mixed with lead-containing water can receive 40 to 60 percent of their exposure to lead from drinking water due to their smaller body size and reduced exposure to other sources. What Steps Can I Take to Reduce Exposure to Lead in Drinking Water?
Run your water to flush out lead. If water has not been used for several hours, run water from your kitchen tap or whatever tap you use for drinking and cooking for 30 seconds to 2 minutes or longer until it becomes cold or reaches a steady temperature before using it for drinking or cooking. This will help flush lead-containing water from the pipes. To conserve water, you can fill multiple containers after flushing for drinking, cooking, and preparing baby formula. Note: You may want to capture the first running water for uses other than drinking or cooking, such as for watering plants. Do not boil water to remove lead. Boiling water will not reduce lead.
Use cold water for cooking and preparing baby formula. Do not use hot tap water for cooking and drinking purposes and flush each cold water tap before drinking and using the water for cooking purposes. Lead dissolves more easily into hot water. Bottled drinking water should be used by pregnant women, breastfeeding women, young children, and formula-fed infants at homes where lead has been detected at levels greater than 15 parts per billion.
Look for alternative sources or treatment of water. You may want to consider purchasing bottled water or a water filter. Be sure the filter is approved to reduce lead or contact NSF International at 1-800-NSF-8010 or www.nsf.org for performance standards for water filters.
Test your water for lead. If you are concerned about lead in your water, you may wish to have your water tested. Call us at 1-800-367-4314 to find out how to get your water tested for lead, if any fees apply, and the location of labs that perform private testing.
Identify if your plumbing fixtures contain lead and replace them with piping and fixtures that do not. Galvanized pipe, brass faucets, fittings, and valves, including those advertised as "lead-free," may add lead to drinking water. As of June 19, 1986, new or replaced water service lines and new household plumbing materials were not allowed to have more than 8% lead. Lead content was further reduced on January 4, 2014, with the adoption of the requirement that the amount of lead used in plumbing materials intended for contact with drinking water must be certified as "lead-free" (weighted average of wetted surface cannot be more than 0.25% lead). Consumers should be aware of this when choosing fixtures and take proper precautions. Visit the NSF Web site at www.nsf.org to learn more about lead-containing plumbing fixtures.
For more information, call Blue Granite Water Company Customer Service at 1-800-367-4314 or visit our website at https://www.myutility.us/bluegranitewater/water-safety/lead-lead-service-lines.
For more information on reducing lead exposure around your home/building and the health effects of lead, visit the EPA’s website at www.epa.gov/lead or contact your health care provider.
System Contact Name: Michael Blackburn
Phone: 803-415-7828
Water System Name: Varnarsdale
Water System No.: 3250027
Monitoring Period with Lead Exceedance: July 1, 2024 – December 21, 2024
Date Notice Distributed: February 26, 2025.Distribution Method: Immediate electronic notification by telephone, e-mail, and text message as well as a hard copy mailed by USPS to every customer.