Toxic Lead Levels Discovered At State-Funded Disability Homes In Texas

In Texas, state-funded homes for people with disabilities are serving up tap water steeped in lead.

“Hundreds of disabled Texans living at three of the state's State Supported Living Centers have been drinking water that contains toxic amounts of lead rivaling those found in the water system in Flint, MI,” The Dallas Morning News reported.

The Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services operates living centers in 13 locations. The communities in Brenham, El Paso, and San Angelo, which are home to nearly 600 people, each have elevated lead levels, the report said.

The Brenham facility is 18 times above the lead limit set by the U.S. EPA, which is 15 ppb. The facilities each sampled at more than 104 ppb. One has 266.

“Tests at the other 10 centers show the drinking water safe,” The Associated Press reported.

Siddhartha Roy, a Virginia Tech researcher who studied Flint’s water, called the circumstances “very worrying.”

“The water is not safe to drink,” Roy said, per the Morning News. “These numbers clearly indicate a lead in water problem at least in some of the faucets where the samples were taken. More testing at the other faucets is needed.”

High lead levels were discovered because of a policy change last year that required the Department of Aging and Disability Services to test for lead each quarter in the state-funded centers, according to the Morning News:  

The first round of tests began in January of 2016 and concluded in April. The 10 other centers did not show elevated lead levels, according to the department. The policy change followed the discovery of a lead pipe that contaminated drinking water at the Austin State Supported Living Center in 2014, department spokeswoman Cecilia Cavuto said. The Austin facility underwent repairs, and test results from January showed no elevated lead levels.

Iva Benson, the director of the Brenham State Supported Living Center, sent a letter to families this month to say their family members are “safe” and that “corrective actions are underway at the center.” She added that bottled water has been distributed.

Dennis Borel, the executive director of the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, called the lead levels “stunningly bad.” He said residents should be screened for high lead levels in their blood.

“These levels of contamination are just too dangerous for them to take no action,” Borel said.

The Department of Aging and Disability Services is still deciding whether to screen residents for high lead levels in their blood.

To read more of our ongoing lead contamination coverage visit Water Online’s Drinking Water Contaminant Removal Solutions Center.