No Elevated Lead Levels Found in Second Water Test of Newark Luxury High Rise – TAPinto.net
NEWARK, NJ – A water sample taken Saturday from one of Newark’s luxury high-rise buildings and analyzed by a second independent lab did not show elevated levels of lead, according to Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.
The sample, taken by the Newark Water Department from Eleven80 building, located at 1180 Raymond Blvd., has undetectable levels of lead/less than 5 parts per billion of lead. This is below the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s lead action level of 15 parts per billion, the mayor said.
This test is consistent with a test performed from the building on Jan, 10, 2019, which also found lead levels of less than 5 parts per billion, Baraka said.
On Friday, residents of the building received a letter instructing them to use only bottled water the management said it would provide after testing revealed an elevated level of lead in the water “entering the building.”
The high-rise is located downtown within the Wanaque service area, where the source water does not contain elevated levels of lead and the corrosion control system is effective at preventing lead from entering the water in buildings with lead service lines, Baraka said.
Baraka also said 1180 Raymond Blvd, like other large buildings, is not connected to the city’s water main by a lead service line. Large buildings require pipes far larger than lead service lines, which are typically the diameter of a quarter.
On Friday, a federal judge sided with Newark’s decision to provide free bottled water only to residents serviced by the Pequannock water source and not to those serviced by the Wanaque water treatment plant.
U.S. Judge Esther Salas wrote in a decision Friday that pregnant women, nursing women and children under the age of six be denied free bottled water in the Wanaque service area, which the city maintains has not been impacted by its lead water crisis