The PWSA, EPA and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection use the 90th percentile to demonstrate the worst case scenario for a given round of lead tests — if 10 percent of the most lead contaminated water samples are above 15 ppb, action is needed. Due to a consent order PWSA signed with the DEP in November 2017, the authority is now required to replace 7 percent of its lead lines by June 30 because its lead levels exceed 15 ppb in the sample.
Lead is a known neurotoxin. The EPA says consuming any amount of lead is unsafe.
The PWSA’s latest lead level readings follow a dip in levels detected previously. Test data released in July 2018 showed lead levels had dropped to 10 ppb at the 90th percentile. Lead levels have fluctuated since June 2016 when PWSA resumed regular testing, which had ended in 2013.
“We’ve seen that the 90th percentile results of compliance testing are variable,” PWSA Executive Director Robert Weimar said in a statement accompanying the data. “Our team is working diligently to reduce the risk of lead in water by applying orthophosphate and rapidly replacing the lead lines in our system.”
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