ANDOVER — The Department of Public Works is working to address lead in drinking water following a 2021 Annual Drinking Quality Report, which showed that lead was found at or above the acceptable or healthy levels in six homes.

The report stated that 31 homes were tested with six scoring at or above the so-called “actionable level.” However, according to Water Treatment Superintendent Brain Peña, the 31 chosen homes were all at locations that the town knew already contained lead-lined services.

Peña said that the town is committed to bringing the level of lead in drinking water to zero.

According to Department of Public Works Director Chris Cronin, part of the reason that some homes tested above the actionable level this year was because that level had recently been lowered.

In total, Peña said, there are around 150 homes in Andover that the town knows have lead-lined services. Peña added that residents who bought their homes recently have already been informed if their home has lead-lined services. These residents will also be receiving correspondence from the town in order to let them know that they are eligible for a free water service replacement, said Peña.

However, there are a number of homes where the type of plumbing is unknown, said Peña. He estimated this number at around 1,300 homes and said that the town has committed to investigating 400 of these homes per year.

Residents who are part of this group will be receiving a letter in the mail in order to set up an inspection, said Peña. Peña said the inspection will take at most 15 minutes. So far the town has conducted 100 of these investigations and found only seven homes to have lead-lined services, said Peña.

Another part of the problem, Cronin said, is that the part of the services that contains lead is usually owned by the homeowner instead of the town, and thus requires the permission of the homeowner to be fixed.

The lead-lined services are usually found in older homes in Andover, in older parts of town like Ballardvale, he said.

Peña said that for the 2022 report the town will be testing twice a year, rather than once, and test 60 homes rather than 30, per new regulations.

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Originally Appeared Here