Warwick Township Used Employees’ Homes to Test for Lead in Water

By Lynn Rebuck • 9 years ago

May
2016

Under Questioning from LititzDailyNews.com, Zimmerman Admits, then Defends Practice of Testing Homes of those with Township Ties

A LititzDailyNews.com exclusive investigation of lead in Lititz drinking water has led to the discovery that the Warwick Township Municipal Authority obtained one-third of the samples for lead in its Lititz system during 2010 by collecting samples from the homes of those with close ties to the township, including employees, the township manager, the contracted civil engineer, and the Severn Trent employee in charge of the water at that time.

On Monday, LItitzDailyNews.com broke the story that Dan Zimmerman, WTMA administrator and township manager, tested his own home twice for lead in 2010 as one of five homes double-sampled during mandatory federal testing for lead in drinking water. Since only a small percentage of homes is sampled, the federal law requires selecting homes at highest risk for lead. Zimmerman recently received a Notice of Violation from the state since WTMA failed to do so by exclusively tested lower-risk, Tier 3 homes like Zimmerman’s twice, instead of sampling the correct number of highest-risk homes.

NOTE: STORY CONTINUES BELOW PHOTOS

The five homes belong to township manager Dan Zimmerman, then-assistant township administrator Claudia Watt, township engineer Grant W. Hummer, former employee Alfred Smith, and the Severn Trent manager who was in charge of the water being tested, Carl Kline. Each home was tested twice.

Ninety percent of the samples from township-connected homes showed little or no lead, compared to 70 percent of homes with no identified ties to the township that were tested the same year. Since only a small amount of homes are tested in a community, the law requires that the homes at highest risk for lead be tested.

One home that tested at the federal limit of 15 parts per billion for lead in 2010 was not included in the next round of testing in 2013. If more than 10% of homes test above 15 ppb, the water supplier must take corrective action, which can cost them money.

Zimmerman was recently notified by the state Department of Environmental Protection that WTMA violated the safe drinking water laws when it collected two samples from some homes in 2010 and 2013 and failed to test the correct number of homes. The notice also contained other violations.

When questioned Tuesday night by LititzDailyNews.com during the WTMA board meeting whether any of the homeowners who provided two samples were connected to the township, both Zimmerman and system superintendent Carl Haws said they couldn’t recall anyone. Zimmerman then acknowledged his home was tested.

A short time later, in response to a question asking the name of the former assistant administrator whose home was sampled, Zimmerman responded, “Claudia Watt.”

Zimmerman defended the selective, repetitive sampling of certain homes after acknowledging the names of individuals who were connected to the township.

“It doesn’t say anything in those regulations about you shouldn’t sample this person or this person, because they like the color purple,” Zimmerman. “It says to find adequate sample sites.”

A total of 10 of the 30 samples were collected from those five homeowners with ties to the township. All of the tests were performed at the expense of the water authority.

“Having five homes tested purposely twice to meet this minimum, that’s a new one,” said Marc Edwards, the Virginia Tech researcher who was instrumental at uncovering the high lead levels in Flint. “I’ve got to add this to my list of ‘bag of tricks.’”

When the sample pool was trimmed from 30 to 20 homes in 2013, those with township ties stayed on the list. They comprise 25% of the homes tested in 2013. WTMA is only required to test once every three years, and will test again this summer.

Water providers are required to test a minimum number of homes based on the size of the population they serve.

Zimmerman and Haws contend that the double sampling was a move of desperation triggered by an error by a DEP error that increased their sample size.

“We were increased to 30 samples that year, and we were scrambling to get enough samples in to begin with,” said Haws. “And that’s why, we just picked somebody, we picked people who were willing to sample twice for us.

At one point during the meeting, Township Solicitor William Crosswell interrupted Zimmerman as he spoke, attempting to summarize what he heard.

According to Crosswell, Zimmerman was trying to find people who understood the program who were willing to participate in the testing “as opposed to trying to circumvent the program and find people who might be willing to participate for some nefarious reasons.” Zimmerman concurred.

If more than 10 percent of homes tested are above the federal limit for lead, a water authority is required to immediately notify the public and take steps that can cost them money, although township officials tonight denied that is the motivation for their selective sampling.

“It’s about ease of access, there’s no cloak and dagger going on,” Zimmerman said, dismissing the idea that the selective double-sampling posed a conflict of interest.

Paul Schwartz, an activist with Washington D.C.-based Water Alliance who has visited Lititz, disagrees.

“ I would be shocked and appalled if I lived in Lititz and I knew that the guy who was supposed to be protecting me was circumventing the science-based sampling of lead in water, and using his own home as a way to get around the requirements,” said Schwartz in an interview. “It’s a real problem of conflict of interest.”

Zimmerman defended Kline’s involvement in the sampling process, even though Kline, was in charge of the water he was testing. Kline was employed by Severn Trent Services, a private company that operates the Lititz Borough Water System, from which the township purchases water.

“There’s nothing in the regulations that says you can’t work for the authority [and have your water be tested],” Zimmerman said.

National water policy expert Yanna Lambrinidou, an associate adjunct professor at Virginia Tech and colleague of Edwards, views the situation in Lititz in the context of the regulations that have been around for a quarter century.

“For over 20 years now, lead in water has been dealt with like a family affair — water utilities using their own people to sample for lead in their own homes, or state agencies looking the other way when utilities fail to properly implement the law, or the EPA developing long-term relationships with utilities and states and giving these entities more room than others to shape federal policy,” said Yanna Lambrinidou, a national water policy expert and Virginia Tech associate adjunct professor of ethics, in an interview with LititzDailyNews.com.

She believes change is possible, but it will take a shifting of priorities.

“Re-establishing public health as our priority will require replacing existing local-state-federal cliques with robust public participation and transparency.”

In the meantime, Zimmerman believes he has the right to test water in his own home as part of the township’s testing, as he has done for the past 15 years.

The mandatory testing period for Lititz begins June 1 and runs through September 30, 2016. Anyone wishing to have their home tested for lead in water should contact the township by email.

How to Connect with Your Government Officials:

Information for contacting state and municipal officials and to engage with local leaders at municipal meetings that are open to public comment is found below:

The Warwick Township Municipal Authority (WTMA) meetings are open to the public, and members of the community may address the board during the public comment portion of the monthly meeting held on the third Tuesday of each month at 315 Clay Road, Lititz. The next meeting will be held on May 17 at 7 p.m.

Dan Zimmerman, Warwick Township Manager/WTMA Administrator Email: [email protected] Phone: (717) 626-8900

Warwick Township Supervisors who oversee personnel matters concerning the Township Manager are: W. Logan Myers, III; Michael Vigunas; C. David Kramer; Herbert Flosdorf; Kenneth Eshleman.

Email: [email protected] Phone: (717) 626-8900

The Board of Supervisors meeting is open to the public who are allowed opportunity for comment. The next meeting of the Board of Supervisors is scheduled for TONIGHT, Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at 7:00 p.m., 315 Clay Rd., Lititz.

PA Bureau of Safe Drinking Water: (717) 787-9633

CORRECTION: This article originally listed the date for the township supervisors to meet as Tuesday. they will meet on Wednesday, May 18 at 7 p.m. The Warwick Township Municipal Authority board will meet tomorrow night, Tuesday, May 17 at 7 p.m.

If you live in Lititz Borough, Warwick Township, Rothsville, or anywhere in the 17543 ZIP code and have a child who has tested with an elevated blood lead level, please email [email protected] today. For tips on how to reduce your exposure to lead, visit the Lead in Drinking Water page of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.