Yazoo City Public Service Commission (YCPSC) officials assured the public Tuesday that there's no need to be concerned about lead and copper being a problem in Yazoo City's water.
YCPSC Manager Jimmy Wever said that ever since 1994 after water samples were obtained from homes that were selected because of the ages of the residences, “we're a good bit lower than the threshold (calling for corrective action).”
In explaining the findings to YCPSC commissioners, engineer Wayne Morrison said the sample analysis proved that the samples collected from the homes tested eight times lower in lead content than anything to be concerned about, and five times lower in copper content.
“(The lead and copper) is not in the water being furnished to them, but it's in the pipes as it sits in the pipes in the house, in the plumbing that sits in the service connection to the house,” Morrison said.
He said if homeowners are worried about the lead and copper content in their water, the remedy is to run the cold water faucet for 30 seconds prior to collecting any water that will be used for drinking or cooking. “This will flush any lead/copper that may have accumulated in the plumbing,” Morrison wrote in his report to the commissioners.
Morrison indicated that the problem is likely to occur most often in older homes due to older plumbing.
“We're required to do this testing every three years,” he said. “We've been running 30 samples. We're probably going to run just 15 samples because (lead and copper problems) just haven't shown up.”
The Mississippi State Health Department (MSHD) dictates the number of samples utilities must collect, and the MSHD performs the tests. Morrison said the lead problem develops when the joints in the plumbing is soldered with lead. Copper content is evidenced in homes with copper plumbing.
During Yazoo City water sample testing in 2013, the lead content in the samples tested at 0.001 with the threshold being at 0.015 milligram per liter. Copper content was 0.1 with the threshold being at 1.3 milligrams per liter.
Wever said YCPSC does monthly testing at sample sites selected throughout town for bacteria.
“If we find one bad sample, we retest it and if it shows up bad again, we issue a notice and we (are considered in) in violation really for two years from that point,” he said. “It has a lot to do with how the sample is collected at the house. You've got to pretty much keep the area sterilized until the sample is taken. It has been several, several years since we've had a violation on that.”
