City of Milwaukee map indicating location of lead water pipes (shaded area) in the 12th aldermanic district.
By Robert Miranda
Editor’s Commentary
Last week the City of Milwaukee’s Common Council, Steering and Rules Committee met at City Hall where they listened to Milwaukee Water Works Superintendent, Carrie Lewis attempt to give a glowing report on the quality of water as it pertains to the construction area along south 13th street in Milwaukee’s near south side.
Lewis said that the predominately Latino neighborhood going through heavy street repaving and sidewalk replacement construction work is not experiencing increases in lead water that go beyond the recommendations of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tolerance of 15 parts per billion (ppb).
Lewis stated that homes tested in an area of construction are testing below the 15ppb standard the EPA says is acceptable.
“Testing of water throughout the pavement replacement work on S. 13th St. should show whether lead levels become unsafe” said Carrie Lewis, Superintendent of Milwaukee Water Works
So what does Carrie Lewis mean when she uses the word “unsafe” lead levels?
Both the EPA and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) agree that “there is no known safe level of lead in a child’s blood”.
Is Carrie Lewis suggesting that lead in water under the 15ppb EPA guideline is safe? This is akin to suggesting that children ingesting lead paint chips the size of a dime is safer than ingesting lead paint chips the size of a half-dollar.
What standard is Milwaukee Water Works quantifying as “unsafe” level?
The idea that levels of lead in the water reaching 8ppb, 10 ppb, 13ppb are acceptable levels because the testing falls under 15ppb is ridicules. When faced with the fact that the EPA and CDC agree that there is no safe level of lead for children, isn’t this an attempt to play down the fact that our children are being poisoned?
Why is it that city bureaucrat’s storm into action when a house is identified with lead paint hazard, and forces property owners to immediately abate the lead paint, but when it comes to lead water poisoning all that the city requires residents to do is flush the water? This is absurd.
Children under 1 year old are 40% to 60% exposed to lead in their blood from water says the EPA. Meaning that even before the baby is walking around the house to get at a lead paint chip, the child is already poisoned because of drinking lead pipe water in their formulas.
Milwaukee Public Works must move to ensure that pavement vibrations because of construction work on South 13th street is not causing the loosening of phosphorous compounds within the inner walls of lead pipes.
The city should get a report from city engineers seeking assurances that this construction is not endangering the families living near any construction on their street. Until it is certain this work is not disturbing the compound that is designed to prevent lead leaching from the lead lateral water pipes, heavy testing of water to more than just 6 homes must be done everyday construction in that neighborhood is being conducted.
Where is Alderman Jose Perez? During his campaign for reelection, Perez focused all his attention on fundraising for his campaign, while the lead laterals scandal in the Milwaukee South Side escaped his agenda, or did it?
Weeks after the aldermanic election in Milwaukee, we have been informed about the seriousness of lead in our water – particularly children’s health – and yet City of Milwaukee officials and bureaucrats downplay the lead lateral contamination of pipes in Milwaukee as some natural fact of life we should just live with. Really!
The willful ignorance and lack of urgency by aldermen like Perez, and City officials regarding the effects of lead in children, the effects of continued lead exposure in the developing brain, and even basic facts as to what are acceptable tolerance levels borders on criminal neglect.
The seriousness of this matter is what lead to the creation of the freshwater for Life Action Coalition (FLAC), a citizens group that has come together to exert oversight and pressure on the City of Mikeaukee to properly address this issue.
The group has raised issues with the City of Milwaukee regarding the much needed street construction work along south 13th Street.
Without pressing for an analysis as to whether or not the continuous pounding and subsequent vibrations could cause lead to further contaminate the water that runs along the lead pipes that feed residents along 13th Street, including their children, furthers the idea of official negligence.
I would have expected Governor Scott Walker and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Secretary Kathy Stepp to ignore this since they really could careless about the City of Milwaukee and its residents, so we are told. But I would have never expected such willfull absence of action and disregard for the well being of citizen’s health in the near south side by Alderman Perez.
It would help if Alderman Jose Perez would have actually spent time studying the lead lateral issue, provide solutions, and visited the residents in the area. It would help if he as an Alderman would do the job he was elected for and be an advocate for Milwaukee South Side residents and exert pressure on City Development, the Mayor’s Office, or Public Works to do something about removing these pipes.
Being a trained political puppet, one thing you’re taught as a career politicians is how to become dependent on the corporate dime, and actually think that citizens work for the politician instead of the politician working for the taxpayers.
We know that Alderman Perez -when he wants- can exert pressure ethically and unethically to obtain what he wants. Maybe Perez is alright with the notion of making poor residents in the near South Side leave their homes, so he can bring developers into these prime near downtown neighborhoods, in the hopes he can copy Scott Walker’s model for obtaining donations and rewards for opening the door to development speculators to prime real estate areas like the near Southside.
In short, the testing of water should be done on the south 13th street blocks where equipment is in use and pounding is being done to break up concrete slabs. More than 6 homes must be tested along this stretch of construction work. Testing water on the blocks where heavy construction work has been completed is suspect at best.
