By Robert Miranda
Street repaving and sidewalk replacement construction continues on the west side of south 13th street. Crews in the area are now laying out electrical piping and smoothing over the soil before pouring cement.
Today, the scene is a far cry from the start of the project when heavy machinery pounded the ground loosening slabs of sidewalk before pounding on them again to break them up into chunks of concrete.
“When they first started the pounding on the street and sidewalk shook up my whole house”, said Ofelia Casiano, a resident on the 2000 block of south 13th street.
When asked if she was informed about the construction work on her block, Casiano stated that before the work started she did receive a notice from the city alerting her that soon construction will be taking place in her block.
When asked if at that time the city provided her with information to take precautions when using the water, Casiano said, “they started coming around to test my water about two weeks ago”.
Construction on south 13th street has been going on for more than a month prior to city representatives showing up to Casiano’s residence to start sampling the water a couple of weeks.
Across the street Manuel Gaona, a resident on 1900 block of south 13th street, stated that when he would be home the heavy construction would shake up his house when they pounded on the sidewalk.
Gaona stated that when he would take showers, “the water would turn yellow while they’re out there pounding away on the street”, said Gaona.
When asked if anyone from the city came over to his house to test his water Gaona said, “No”.
“I did receive a notice about the construction, but any other notice about the water was simply to flush the water. I was surprised that when I was taking a shower one day, all of a sudden the water came out yellow”, continued Gaona.
City of Milwaukee Water Works (MWW) Superintendent, Carrie Lewis stated at a recent Steering & Rules Committee of the Milwaukee Common Council that MWW tested 6 homes in the area resulting in no homes having 15 parts per billion lead levels in the water.
What is not clear is whether or not those samples were collected during the height of construction when homes in the area felt the vibrations of the pounding taking place on the street.
It has been the contention of the group Freshwater for Life Action Coalition (FLAC), that the vibrations from the pounding of heavy equipment breaking up sidewalks, is potentially loosening the phosphorous compound lining the inner walls of lead service laterals potentially causing spiking of lead in the drinking water.
The percentage of lead-poisoned children among those tested in Wisconsin is 4.5%, very similar to the 4.9% of children diagnosed in 2015 in Flint, MI, where state and federal officials have declared a state of emergency over the spike in lead in drinking water and children’s blood.
In Milwaukee, the percentage of lead-poisoned children is even higher 8.6 percent of children tested in 2014 had blood lead levels above 5 micro grams per deciliter, the level at which children are known to suffer health problems, according to an article by Wisconsin Watch Report.
