The city of Benton Harbor is working with Berrien County and the state of Michigan to address elevated lead levels found in some homes around the community last year. The city detected the problem in October, and since then about 320 residents have brought in samples for testing. About 50 of those had elevated lead levels. At a town hall Thursday, the Berrien County Health Department’s Nicki Britten said anyone who is concerned should flush their water for five minutes whenever it has not been running for six hours or more. Additionally, the county is providing filters to the homes known to have elevated lead levels starting next week, and it will provide the filters to anyone who wants them starting the week of February 4.
“Next week we will be distributing information through a variety of avenues on where people can go to pick up filters and what locations and times,” Britten told WSJM News.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s Ernie Sarkipato added the state is also taking action in the next few months.
“The Department of Environmental Quality will be working with the city in conjunction with DHHS to install a more advanced treatment system at the water plant to add a phosphate chemical which will act to coat the interior of the pipes and prevent lead release throughout town,” Sarkipato told us.
Benton Harbor City Manager Darwin Watson said a $280,000 state grant will be used to replace water lines from the street to the affected homes.
“We’re starting line replacements, some now, with the money we got from the state,” Watson told us.
Those old connections from the street to the homes are believed to be the problem. The city is now conducting an inventory of its water system to prepare for even longer-term work. Britten reported Thursday there have been no increases in elevated blood lead levels among the city’s children. Anyone looking for more information on lead in water can check the Berrien County Health Department’s website.
