Congressional Delegate Stacey Plaskett was one of the estimated 13,000 Crucians forced to use bottled drinking water because of elevated lead and copper levels in the municipal pipes. Plaskett, whose St. Croix home doesn’t have a working cistern, said Friday she was deeply concerned.
“I rely on WAPA water, so I understand the fear and concern that Virgin Islanders have in a very real way about this,” the congresswoman said. “My husband and I are now talking about maybe we need to get the cistern fixed.”
Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. asked the White House to declare elevated levels of lead in St. Croix’s potable water system a national emergency Friday morning, saying it would free up money for expanded testing, technical assistance, and relief to residents, particularly with urgency for vulnerable community members.
Plaskett said some $1.5 billion was already potentially available through different federal programs to address infrastructure issues like water pipes. The congresswoman said she had not spoken to Bryan about his plans nor the request for a federal emergency declaration.
Although tests at the St. Croix Educational Complex, the John H. Woodson Junior High School, the Alfredo Andrews Elementary School, and the Mount Pleasant Housing Community found levels of lead and copper either non-detectable or were below the 15 parts per billion action level, some of the island was still above the threshold considered safe.
Water and Power Authority officials reiterated calls to not drink water from municipal pipes Friday but said bathing and cleaning with the pipe water was fine. Some St. Croix residents, however, weren’t buying it.
Our Town Frederiksted, a community advocacy group since 1988, released a five-point statement Friday calling on the government to provide water filters, distribute water, suspend meters for contaminated water, provide regular updates, and apologize for downplaying the issue.
WAPA conducted testing beyond Environmental Protection Agency requirements in late September to find the source of reddish-brown water plaguing the island intermittently. The tests — performed near the meter, not homeowners’ taps, where all but two earlier tests had come back below EPA limits — revealed widespread elevated lead and copper levels.
The EPA signed off on a letter recognizing the dangerously toxic water on Oct. 12. WAPA said they received notice Oct. 13 and released an innocuously titled warning “Authority Collaborates for Water Quality Enhancements with Additional Technical Assistance” on Oct. 14. Government House said Bryan was alerted early Oct. 16 and issued the “no drink” order Oct. 17 — five days after government officials knew of the problem.
The EPA sets maximum lead content in drinking water at 15 parts per billion. But, according to the Centers for Disease Control, no amount of lead is safe for human consumption. Some test sites had dramatically high levels of the toxic metals even after the pipes were flushed.
Tests conducted Sept. 28-30 showed elevated amounts of lead in 35 of 65 test sites and elevated copper levels at 15 sites.
The results of an additional round of testing were not clear as of press time Friday. Neither WAPA, Government House, nor the EPA would comment on the results — including exactly which neighborhoods were most acutely impacted.
Plaskett declined to call the water emergency the Virgin Islands’ most pressing issue.
“Everyone has different priorities. But as we’ve said, many people have said that clean water is a fundamental right,” she said. “I’m confident that, in my conversations with WAPA leadership, that they are really concerned and are on the desk, and that they can be assured that I am pushing EPA to bring as many resources, as much resources as possible, as well as supporting the governor and the use of the funding that we have available to come up with a solution while we move towards a long-term one.
Nothing showing the amounts of lead and copper in the resampling was sent as of press time, though a release from Government House was promised.
