Central Current reported this story with funding from the Health Foundation for Western and Central New York.City officials had an answer to a month-long public push for a declaration of a state of emergency over the lead pipes that bring water to thousands of Syracuse homes: the situation is not grave enough.That was the city’s stance communicated by Chief Policy Officer Greg Loh to dozens of residents who packed the Common Council Chambers Thursday night for the council’s public hearing on lead in the city’s water pipes, or water service lines. Public health advocates have been seeking the declaration to open funding streams that they say could help replace the city’s more than 14,500 lead service lines, which make up about 40% of the water lines that enter homes. Their calls came after the city released testing data over the summer that showed there were about 70 parts-per-billion of lead in water tested at more than a hundred homes. That is about five times more than the level at which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires utility owners to take action.The high levels of lead and the heaps of lead pipes in the city prompted advocates to allege Syracuse’s problem with lead pipes to be worse than Flint, Michigan’s a decade ago.The city has refuted those claims, noting that the results from testing over the summer were an aberration, primarily caused by non-regulation testing practices conducted by two water department employees. “What occurred here does not constitute what we believe is an emergency,” Loh said. “We have heard from experts at the state level that there is no faster path than the funds that have been made available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”Loh said that measure would not help bring more money toward the replacement of lead service lines because the results from testing in the summer are an outlier. At the city’s current planned pace, it would take five years or longer to replace all the lead pipes in the city. An analysis of reports dating back to 2019 suggests the city’s water has tested at or below the current threshold of action of 15 ppb. New testing that will be turned over to the state on Dec. 31 will show that the level of lead is at or below 10 ppb, the new threshold of action set to be adopted by the EPA in three years, Loh has said in previous interviews.Advocates held a rally Tuesday, Nov. 12, to advocate for the city to call a state of emergency over lead in its drinking water. The state of emergency would help Syracuse more quickly replace lead pipes that carry water. Advocates rallied on the steps of City Hall. Credit: Eddie Velazquez | Central Current“Nothing has changed in the city of Syracuse. We know our water source is the same, our treatment is the same,” said Water Commissioner Robert Brandt. “Everything we’ve done for the last, I can’t say how many years, is the same. Nothing has changed for the city.”But advocates maintain that the presence of lead itself is a crisis and that a declaration of emergency will be key to expedite the replacement of lead service lines, helping make a dent in Onondaga County’s childhood lead poisoning crisis. “That doesn’t mean the lead levels don’t exist, and it doesn’t mean that you can’t recognize that,” said Oceanna Fair, a member of Families for Lead Freedom Now.County data shows that almost one in 10 children tested have elevated levels of lead in their blood. Syracuse also has a crisis of lead paint in homes, which contributes to the city’s high number of kids who test positive for elevated blood-lead levels.  Fair said the city could access expedited funding through the state’s Clean Water Act and that other municipalities like Newark, New Jersey, have declared an emergency to replace their lead service lines inventory at a faster pace.Advocates have also demanded the city provide filters to every household with a lead service line in the city, as well as develop an outreach campaign that shows residents best practices on how to handle lead in drinking water. They also want the families dealing with childhood lead poisoning to have a seat at the table, which would go a long way at establishing trust with residents, advocates said. “No more children should be sickened and no more pregnant women should have to worry about this,” Chie Togami, a professor at SUNY’s College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry, told the council and a panel of city officials at the meeting Thursday.What is the city’s plan? The city plans to use $22.8 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds to replace around 3,000 lead service lines next year starting in January. Sol Muñoz, a city spokesperson, said the city will follow its one-dig approach to have lead service line replacement projects coincide with other capital projects involving water infrastructure.. The first set of lines replaced next year, around 2,700 private service lines, will be connected to homes where the city has already replaced pipes from the water main to the sidewalk of the property. This trail of pipes is known as a public lead service line. Private service lines go from the sidewalk to the water meter in the house. “The benefit of starting there is that we don’t rip out the roadway and we can reach as many homes with as little disruption as possible. These lines are spread out throughout the city,” Muñoz said. That will be the first phase of the city’s plan. Loh said the city plans to replace more than 3,000 lead service lines every year, splitting that work into phases. That could help with contractor capacity, something Brandt said the city doesn’t have.“If the state gave us all the money tomorrow, we wouldn’t be able to replace all the lead service lines,” Brandt said. The city plans to address that by breaking up and shrinking the scope of replacement jobs so that smaller contracting companies can bid and complete work, Muñoz said.Advocates worry that replacements will not reach the families who need them most, particularly residents concentrated in the West Side and South Side, where there are dense clusters of lead service lines. “This is an environmental justice issue first and foremost,” said Togami whose research focuses on environmental justice. “Historically, we know that people of color who are low income are less likely to get access to service replacements.”To make those determinations, the department will use an equity score to rate every census tract in the city. That score accounts for the following variables and weighs them as follows: The percentage of residents of color and residents living below the poverty line each account for 25% of the score respectively. The percentages of residents with a disability, older than 65 years old, those who are single parents, those who spend more than a third of their income on housing, and those with a low educational attainment each make up 10% of the score respectively.  Advocates held a rally Tuesday, Nov. 12, to advocate for the city to call a state of emergency over lead in its drinking water. The state of emergency would help Syracuse more quickly replace lead pipes that carry water. Advocates rallied on the steps of City Hall. Credit: Eddie Velazquez | Central CurrentTagami, whose research focuses on environmental justice, said at the meeting the city has to ensure its equity score doesn’t leave anyone behind.The city and Onondaga County have also ordered 6,000 Brita Elite water filters to cover families with children aged 6 years old and younger as well as the homes of their caregivers. Loh said they should be arriving in the next several weeks and that the city will partner with the Syracuse City School District and daycare centers in the city to distribute them. The county will also work to deliver filters to families with pregnant women enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC, Loh said.That Brita filter has been used in other municipalities, like Denver, as part of cities’ strategies to keep residents safe while lead service lines are being replaced. The product’s website claims the Elite filter reduces 99% of lead in water and filters up to 120 gallons of water or lasts up to six months.But advocates say they want everyone in the city with a lead service line to get a filter, as it can prevent the poisoning of children at homes where the status of a service line is unknown.“Six thousand water filters are not enough,” said MoAde Jagusah, who works developing community agriculture projects at the Brady Faith Center. read more of central current’s coverage City tells residents Syracuse’s lead pipe problem isn’t grave enough for state of emergency Drinking water in the city doesn’t have enough lead to be declared a state of emergency, city officials told residents Thursday night. by Eddie Velazquez November 15, 2024November 15, 2024 Syracuse Urbanism Collective to hold its first smart growth conference The conference, taking place Friday, will focus on ways to improve Syracuse’s infrastructure, housing, public spaces and transportation. by Yolanda Stewart November 14, 2024November 14, 2024 Central Current Radio: Who cares for the caregivers? 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