December 12, 2024 |
Photo – Bigfoot file photo
The Saratoga Public Works Department is battling to correct the mistaken assumptions of the leftist federal government.
As reported by Bigfoot99, some Saratoga residents have received letters from the Environmental Protection Agency claiming that their drinking water may contain lead, a heavy metal known to cause brain damage and birth defects in large doses. Speaking at the November 19th Saratoga town council meeting, Public Works Director Emery Penner said the town does not deliver water to residents that contains lead. Penner explained that the letters were sent to residents whose homes the town couldn’t confirm the material of their water service connections.
In 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency created the Lead and Copper Rule Revision, requiring all municipalities in the country to perform an inventory of water connection materials. The regulation was designed to identify lead and copper fittings, which can leach harmful chemicals into drinking water. Long-term exposure to these metals can been shown to cause health issues ranging from stomach distress to brain damage.
The EPA required local governments to catalog all water hookups in their towns and submit the information to Washington D.C. by October 16th of this year. Public Works Director Penner explained that the EPA automatically sent letters to residents whose homes the town couldn’t physically verify to be free of lead fittings.
During the December 3rd Saratoga town council meeting, Penner said he is still working on the EPA’s lead and copper inventory. The public works director said he is collaborating with Engineering Associates on a plan to dig up and check the remaining service lines. Penner said he hopes to procure state funding to hire a contractor to perform the work.
Penner said getting the funding to dig up and physically check the remaining water service connections could take years.
The Environmental Protection Agency also recently conducted a sanitary inspection of Saratoga’s well-field, which supplies fresh water to the town. Penner explained that the report was positive overall.
However, the federal agency found that the town has the wrong sized mesh filter screens to prevent particulates from entering the water supply. Penner said the EPA doesn’t understand that fine mesh screens are not practical in rural Wyoming.
Aside from that one issue, Penner said he is happy with the results of the EPA testing.
