LEWES, Del.- The Lewes Board of Public Works is clarifying elevated lead results from routine drinking water compliance testing conducted in late September, after the information was previously reported to customers through utility bills.
According to BPW, 10 samples were collected across its service area. Two samples exceeded the action level of 0.015 milligrams per liter.
The exceedances were found at a sampling station behind a shopping center on East Savannah Road, which tested at 0.0230 mg/L, and at a home on Clayton Avenue, which tested at 0.0321 mg/L.
The agency says lab results were received in November, and property owners with exceedances were notified within 24 hours of BPW receiving the results. The remaining eight samples did not exceed the action level.
The compliance samples, aside from those taken at designated sampling stations, are collected by customers inside their homes, according to the BPW. The BPW says lead levels can vary based on multiple factors beyond service line material, including household plumbing, fixtures and internal conditions within individual homes.
BPW has begun additional testing at locations throughout the service area and says it will continue enhanced monitoring to better assess system-wide conditions.
The BPW says it is also working to complete an inventory of service line materials throughout its service area. The inventory will include both the utility-owned and customer-owned portions of service lines. Additional funding has been requested to support the effort.
Once the inventory is complete, BPW says it will develop a long-term replacement plan for identified lead and galvanized service lines on the utility side and will notify homeowners of the materials serving their properties.