The issue of lead in drinking water has come to light with the crisis in Flint, Michigan…and it was a topic of discussion for Pennsylvania officials at a recent Senate budget hearing in Harrisburg.
State Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Quigley reassured lawmakers that there are no significant levels of lead in any of the state’s 159 water systems.
But he did say lead pipes and paint in older buildings could pose a problem in the future.
“The problem in Pennsylvania that we have we lead is our older building stock,” he said. “We’re the third or fourth oldest average building stock in the nation…with 80 percent of our buildings pre-World War II.”
Some of those buildings contain lead pipes, lead soldering, and virtually all of them contain lead paint, according to Quigley.
Quigley also noted staffing at DEP is down 25 percent in the past 10 years…which puts the state’s oversight of water systems at risk.
