Government House said EPA found anomalies in earlier St. Croix water sampling data

Government House said on Nov. 27, 2023, that Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. had received an Environmental Protection Agency report indicating anomalies in earlier EPA data that had found elevated lead and copper levels in parts of St. Croix’s water system in mid-October.

At the weekly briefing, Communications Director Richard Motta said the governor and the territory’s unified command were informed late on Nov. 22, 2023, of results from EPA sequential testing conducted in early November. He said the analysis indicated that concerns about widespread elevated lead and copper levels in the water system might be unfounded.

Motta said some St. Croix areas continued to have water-quality problems, primarily discolored water linked to aging ductile iron pipes. He said the earlier elevated lead and copper readings were now understood to be largely tied to deviations from standard testing protocols.

According to Motta, the initial sampling focused on water taken at the meter rather than at the tap, which could have introduced other contaminants into the samples. He said the EPA findings reported on Oct. 13, 2023, contradicted tests conducted by the Water and Power Authority in September under EPA protocols requiring lead and copper testing at the tap.

Health Commissioner Justa Encarnacion said pediatric blood lead testing on St. Croix was continuing. She said 550 children had been tested and that all results to date were negative or below the level of concern.

Official source: https://www.vi.gov/government-house-briefing-reveals-epa-sequential-sampling-results-data-anomalies-detected/