The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation has released a report listing 15 water systems in Alaska that contain lead levels above the federal limit, and the city of Seldovia is among them.
At the last city council meeting, Seldovia city manager Tod Larson responded to the report, stating that old pipes and faucets are the issue.
He advised running water before using it.
“The water from the current water treatment plant is safe,” Larson said. “As it comes into the house, the water goes through some older pipes and some lead is leaching there, so we told them they need to run their water for about two minutes. There also are water testing programs that can test the water from the Department of Environmental Health with the state and finally that there will be a new additive in the water plant that will assist in coating the pipes.”
The additive will coat the pipes, Larson said, in an effort to stop the contamination.
Seldovia’s water system contained 22 parts per billion of lead.
The legal limit is 15 parts per billion.
