DRINKING WATER WARNING
Sampling shows elevated lead levels in some homes and/or buildings:
Public Water System Name: found elevated levels, of lead in drinking water in
some homes/buildings. Town of Medicine Bow may also have tested your home or
building. If they did, you should receive or may have already received these results. These results are specific to your home/building and may be different from the results taken in other locations.
Lead can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children. Please read this information closely to see what you can do to reduce lead in your drinking water.
What is an Action Level?
The lead action level is a measure of the effectiveness of the corrosion control treatment in water systems. The action level is not a standard for establishing a safe level of lead in a home. To check if corrosion control is working, EPA requires water systems to test for lead at the tap in certain homes, including those with lead service lines. Systems compare sample results from homes to EPA’s action level of 0.015 mg/L (15 ppb). If 10 percent of the samples from these homes have water concentrations that are greater than the action level, then the system must perform actions such as public education, adjusting treatment, and lead service line replacement.
What Happened?
The Town of Medicine Bow collected the required random lead and copper samples for testing. One out of those five samples tested over the EPA’s allowable limits.
Between [09-15-24] and [10-16-24], we collected [five]
samples and analyzed them for lead. The results of more than 10 percent of our samples exceeded the action level for lead.
Town of Medicine Bow is focused on protecting the health of every household in our community; however, lead from service lines and lead plumbing and fixtures can dissolve or break off into water and end up at the faucet. This occurrence appears to be from low or no use of a faucet.
We found that copper lines are not the sources of lead in your drinking water. This does
not mean that every property that receives drinking water from the Town of Medicine Bow has lead in the drinking water. It does mean that you should understand how to reduce your exposure to lead through water. Keep in mind that drinking water is not the only potential source of lead exposure, since lead can be found in air, soil, and paint. For more information on all sources of lead, visit
https://www.epa.gov/lead.
Office of Water (4606) EPA 816-F-24-003 April 2024
Health Effects of Lead
*Exposure to lead in drinking water can cause serious health effects in all age groups. Infants and children can have decreases in IQ and attention span. Lead exposure can lead to new learning and behavior problems or exacerbate existing learning and behavior problems. The children of women who are exposed to lead before or during pregnancy can have increased risk of these adverse health effects. Adults can have increased risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney, or nervous system problems. *
Steps You Can Take to Reduce Your Exposure to Lead in Your Water
Below are recommended actions that you may take, separately or in combination, if you are concerned about lead in your drinking water. The list also includes where you may find more information and is not intended to be a complete list or to imply that all actions equally reduce lead from drinking water.
• Use your filter properly. Using a filter can reduce lead in drinking water. If you use a filter, it should be certified to remove lead. Read any directions provided with the filter to learn how to properly install, maintain, and use your cartridge and when to replace it. Using the cartridge after it has expired can make it less effective at removing lead. Do not run hot water through the filter. For more information on facts and advice on home water filtration systems, visit EPA’s website at https://www.epa.gov/groundwater-and-drinking-water/home-drinking-water-filtration-fact-sheet and EPA’s Consumer Tool for Identifying Drinking Water Filters Certified to Reduce Lead.
• Clean your aerator. Regularly remove and clean your faucet’s screen (also known as an aerator). Sediment, debris, and lead particles can collect in your aerator. If lead particles are caught in the aerator, lead can get into your water.
• Use cold water. Do not use hot water from the tap for drinking, cooking, or making baby formula as lead dissolves more easily into hot water. Boiling water does not remove lead from water.
• Recommendation:
Run your water. The more time water has been sitting in your home’s pipes, the more lead it may contain. Before drinking, flush your home’s pipes by running the tap, taking a shower, doing laundry, or doing a load of dishes. The amount of time to run the water will depend on whether your home has a lead service line or not, as well as the length and diameter of the service line and the amount of plumbing in your home.
• Learn what your service line material is
Contact us at 307-703-0418 or a licensed plumber to determine if the pipe that connects your home to the water main (called a service line) is made from lead, galvanized, or other materials.
Protect Your Tap: A quick check for lead is EPA’s on-line step by step guide to learn how to find lead pipes in your home.
Office of Water (4606) EPA 816-F-24-003 April 20
• Learn about construction in your neighborhood.
• Have your water tested. Contact us at 319 Pine Street Medicine Bow, Wyoming to have your water tested and to learn more about the lead levels in your drinking water.
Get Your Child Tested to Determine Lead Levels in His or Her Blood
A family doctor or pediatrician can perform a blood test for lead and provide information about the health effects of lead. State, city, or county departments of health can also provide information about how you can have your child's blood tested for lead. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that public health actions be initiated when the level of lead in a child’s blood is 3.5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) or more. For more information and links to CDC’s website, please visit https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-anddrinking-water/basic-information-about-lead-drinking-water.
What is Being Done?
This Tier 1 Public Notification is being posted. Additional testing is being conducted. Reviewing the need for corrosion control treatment study and progressively trying to get customers to replace old lead lines.
The actions that we are taking are following Federal AND/OR State lead and copper regulations.
In addition to the information mentioned above that we will provide to residents at locations we sampled, we will also be following up with additional public education to all our customers by12-3-2024.
We are working to determine which corrosion control treatment strategy would be most effective in addressing this situation.
All service lines from town main pipe to the servicing meter is PVC or PEX.
We also plan to take the following steps:
• We are conducting additional lead and/or water quality monitoring of our water system supply.
• We are increasing our lead monitoring to determine the extent of the situation.
General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk from lead in drinking water are available from EPA’s website https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-anddrinking-water/basic-information-about-lead-drinking-water.
*Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly.
This notice is being sent to you by Town of Medicine Bow State Public Water System (PWS) ID#: Wy5600034.
Date distributed:10-23-24
Office of Water (4606) EPA 816-F-24-003 April 2024
