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Benton Harbor Drinking Water Study
Citation:
Tully, J., S. Shilling, V. Bosscher, M. Schock, AND D. Lytle. Benton Harbor Drinking Water Study. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-22/269, 2023.
Impact/Purpose:
Report including all data EPA collected during field efforts in Benton Harbor, MI.
Description:
The EPA Office of Water (OW) requested the EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) conduct a water filter effectiveness study in Benton Harbor, Michigan, in response to lead concerns facing the residents of Benton Harbor. ORD designed a study to evaluate water filter effectiveness, identify lead sources, and characterize particles within residences in Benton Harbor. This study was carried out in collaboration between EPA Region 5, the State of Michigan and ORD from November 9 – December 17, 2021. Just under 2,000 field samples were collected and analyzed, sampling 215 locations for the water filter effectiveness study (resulting in 199 properly installed and operated water filter study locations) and 26 locations for the sequential sampling study to evaluate premise plumbing and service line lead release. The highlights of each of the three studies are below: The water filter effectiveness study results show that all (100%) properly operating water filter samples were below the NSF/ANSI 53 (NSF/ANSI, 2021) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) bottled water certification (21 C.F.R. § 165.110) requirements of 5 ppb lead (FDA). Galvanized iron premise plumbing and service line materials were prevalent throughout the community with 66% of all locations sampled having some galvanized premise plumbing. Results from the sequential sampling study show that the galvanized plumbing may be a source of lead to drinking water, as levels of lead (ranging from 1-25 ppb lead and an average around 6 ppb lead) were observed to persist in sections of the plumbing where galvanized pipes were observed or suspected. Lead particulate was identified in the community; however, single, discrete lead-containing nanoparticles (<100 nm) were not widely found or common. Combined with the water filter effectiveness results, Benton Harbor was not having the same issue with certified water filter lead breakthrough due to lead nanoparticulate that was observed by ORD in Newark, New Jersey (Lytle et al., 2020).