Researchers have discovered toxic levels of lead in tap water in Watts, South Los Angeles, potentially putting local residents at serious health risk. Researchers say the problem is the result of neglect of the city’s infrastructure.
The study, released Wednesday, said the toxic metal was found more frequently in samples taken from homes in nearby public housing projects, where plumbing problems have historically led to heavy metals contaminating drinking water. Any level of lead in drinking water is not considered safe, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
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But some water samples in Watts contained lead levels so high that they warrant special regulatory action, in accordance with standards set by the EPA. Those samples contained lead levels higher than 15 µg/L, or 15 parts per billion, researchers said. That’s the so-called action level set by the EPA — when infrastructure repairs and public notification of the problem are required.
The study, which calls for government-led water testing in Watts, was conducted by researchers from universities including UCLA, USC and the University of Michigan. The study was commissioned by the Better Watts Initiative, the environmental justice arm of the Watts Labor Community Action Committee, which advocates for “clean air, land and water” in the South LA neighborhood.
“This is an outrage. The health, welfare and civil rights of this community have been trampled upon by generations of neglect by Los Angeles city and county leaders,” Tim Watkins, the committee’s CEO, said in a statement. “Clean water is a fundamental human right… The city must be held accountable for its neglect of Watts.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), lead exposure in children can cause brain and nervous system damage, learning, hearing and speech problems, and delayed growth and development.
Meanwhile, adults can face health risks, including neurological effects, organ damage and reproductive problems in both men and women, the CDC reports. High levels of lead can be fatal.
“I am grateful to leaders like Tim Watkins, the Better Watts Initiative and the Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC) for their continued advocacy on behalf of the Watts community,” Councilman Tim McOsker said in a statement. “I will work with the Department of Water and Power and other agencies to investigate and address the contamination issues identified in the report to find immediate and urgent solutions.”
In a statement, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) said members of the state agency met with the study’s researchers. LADWP has offered to help any households where lead-contaminated water has been found.
“Everyone deserves access to safe, high-quality tap water,” the agency said. “Our trained technicians will collect and test water samples for customers in LADWP’s service area using approved methods and send samples to an accredited laboratory for analysis.”
LADWP reported that the most recent sampling and testing of Los Angeles’ water found it met EPA drinking water standards.
However, the study found that lead contributes to many “avoidable health disparities” in Watts, including an average life expectancy that is 14 years shorter than in surrounding areas.
In a statement, one of the researchers called the situation a “public health and environmental crisis.”
“Many residents of the community of Watts are drinking and bathing in water that is unsafe,” said Danielle Hoague, the study’s lead researcher and a Ph.D. student at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. She said the EPA should immediately conduct water testing in Watts in light of the study’s findings.
The study specifically blames the dangerous lead levels on decades-old plumbing problems in Watts, where lead water pipes were built into homes before the Safe Drinking Water Act banned the use of such pipes in the mid-1980s. Landlords and homeowners typically can’t afford to replace these corroding pipes, as well as faucets and other fixtures, the study says.
LADWP said in a statement that plumbing systems “on the customer side of the meter” can lead to changes in water quality after that water leaves the city agency’s distribution system. “Concerned customers should consider using carbon filters on the countertop or in the refrigerator that are certified to remove lead and metals,” the agency said in the statement.
Watts, which covers two square miles just north of Compton, is one of the most polluted neighborhoods in the state of California, according to CalEnviroScreen, the mapping tool from the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OSHA).
Nearby areas in the South Los Angeles region, including Commerce, Lynwood and Compton, report similarly high pollution levels.
People in Watts or other parts of Los Angeles who want to have their water tested can contact LADWP at 213-376-3182.
