Lake Wylie residents hoping for more answers on lead in water

Residents of the River Hills neighborhood hoped Tuesday night to have their concerns eased about lead levels in their water supply, and the responsiveness of their water supplier.

But many didn’t feel they got the answers to their questions at a community meeting because – despite the presence of state and local officials who could speak broadly about the lead monitoring process and the area’s water sources – no representative of Carolina Water Service, which directly provides water services to 8,900 Lake Wylie residents, was there to answer questions.

More than a hundred people filled a recreation hall at Camp Thunderbird – just a few feet from the waters of the lake that feeds into their faucets – for a community meeting organized by state Rep. Ralph Norman, R-Rock Hill, on the community’s water concerns.

Tuesday’s meeting was scheduled after testing found lead in two subdivisions served by Carolina Water Service – River Hills in Lake Wylie and the Foxwood subdivision in Fort Mill. Test results on Jan. 27 registered amounts of lead that exceeded a federal safety standard, and triggered more frequent testing of the water lines serving a total of 3,500 people in both neighborhoods.

Residents heard from experts with the state Department of Health and Environmental Control and the administrators for the water systems of York County and the city of Rock Hill, which serve as the water sources for the community.

But they couldn’t answer the questions of Karen Ross, who is in the process of replacing her home’s plumbing with lead-free components.

“But that doesn’t help if the line between the street and my house has lead in it,” Ross said, “and the gentlemen here tonight couldn’t say that.”

Instead, they heard about the corrosion controls provided by Rock Hill, which treats the county’s water supply, and the details of the contract by which York County allows Carolina Water Service to operate the area’s water system. The contract between York County and Carolina Water Service expires Jan. 1, and county officials are considering whether they could take over water provision directly, at a potential cost of $20 million to taxpayers.

Assistant York County Manager David Harmon said the county doesn’t have up-to-date information about the condition of the lines or at what value Carolina Water Service would sell them. An earlier estimate provided to the county said $10 million worth of improvements would have to be made to the system.

“Has Carolina Water Service made those improvements?” Harmon asked. “Does Carolina Water Service have easements for all those lines? ... If the county decides not to renew, the system would have to be evaluated.”

Residents were left with concerns about their exposure to lead. Long-term exposure to lead-laced drinking water can cause serious health problems, with even low levels potentially causing kidney problems and nervous system disorders. Lead is particularly dangerous to young children, because it can cause brain damage.

Follow-up testing showed a drop in lead levels. At the time, Carolina Water Service blamed the lead issues on errors in how water samples were taken for testing. Some of the homeowners did not flush their taps before collecting samples, the utility said.

David Baize, acting chief of the DHEC water bureau, said the agency is studying lead issues in the affected neighborhoods to identify a cause. He noted the upper portion of the state has seen several high lead readings in different communities in recent years, for reasons that aren’t clear. Baize said those readings haven’t correlated with an increase in lead levels found in patients’ blood over the same period.

Christopher Newbern was left unsatisfied after the meeting, saying he wished he could put his questions to the company directly.

“If you voice your concerns to CWS, they say they’ll take care of it, then you don’t hear from them again, the water quality is still horrible, and your rates go up,” Newbern said.

Many residents were upset last year when the S.C. Public Service Commission approved a 17 percent rate increase, a 20 percent increase in the per-gallon charge on water, and a 28 percent to 78 percent increase in sewer rates.

“They have a government-permitted monopoly, and they’ve got us over a barrel,” Newbern said.

In 2014, the city of Tega Cay bought that city’s water system from Tega Cay Water Service, a subsidiary of Utilities Inc., the same company that owns Carolina Water Service. Residents there had been upset by a series of sewage spills and other issues with the water service and pushed officials to take over the system.

This story was originally published April 5, 2016 at 9:12 PM with the headline "Lake Wylie residents hoping for more answers on lead in water."