The Environmental Protection Agency held a community environmental dialogue on Tuesday evening at the Rotary Club of St. Croix West. Representatives of several V.I. government agencies addressed a crowd of about 50 concerned citizens.
The dialogue gave the public the opportunity to understand the recent water sampling process and view a presentation about the samples taken. On Sept. 28 and 29, two teams composed of the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, the V.I. Water and Power Authority, the University of the Virgin Islands and the EPA gathered samples from 66 locations. Their findings showed elevated lead and copper levels.
On Oct. 14, the Water and Power Authority released a press statement notifying the public of their findings. On Oct. 16, Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. issued a “no drinking water” advisory.
Over the past week, the V.I. government has been working closely with the Environmental Protection Agency to investigate the source of the lead and copper contamination affecting portions of St. Croix’s water supply.
Based on extensive work carried out in collaboration with the EPA, their preliminary assessment is that the lead and copper contamination source is unlikely to originate from the Water and Power Authority’s water source. Instead, initial findings suggest that the problem is within the distribution system, specifically in the areas of concern identified last week, the release stated.
Approximately $1 billion is being invested toward improving St. Croix’s water infrastructure — a project that will span more than168 miles and could take 20–30 years to complete, officials have said.
V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency Director Daryl Jaschen said, “As soon as these results came out, we set up a unified command.” He said that the command team meets twice a day with the governor.
After the announcement, the Water and Power Authority began immediately flushing neighborhoods with the highest levels of lead sampled. The flushing increased the water flow through the system.
WAPA also said that in collaboration with DPNR, it completed the resampling of 35 areas that tested positive for high levels. Those samples are currently being tested in Florida labs and additional sampling was also sent to Puerto Rico labs from Alfredo Andrews Elementary, John H. Woodson Jr. High School, The St. Croix Educational Complex High School, and the Mount Pleasant housing complex.
During the questions segment, a couple of visibly frustrated residents voiced their concerns.
“This testing was because of our complaints and our voices. This should have happened years ago. There should have been a whole audit of our system years ago,” said concerned citizen Brittany Dawson. “We need to do better.”
Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia replied, “This is one of the reasons the Biden Administration made sure that under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law there was money for lead service line replacement. Because of communities like yours and we need to do more to get the lead out. We are taking this issue seriously and one of the reasons we are making sure that all communities and governments have the money to replace lead service lines.”
To which the Water and Power Authority confirmed that a $30 million grant was received to begin this process.
The Health Department also advises the community of their testing for lead exposure that is available at the Frederiksted Health Center of St. Croix.
Health Department hotlines also are available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. To speak with a representative, you can call 340-712-6299 or 340-776-1519. DPNR also operates a hotline number at 340-514-3666, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
