Water from residential taps in the City of Wayne remains contaminated with high levels of lead, according to inspectors from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
Wayne residents should continue to put lead filters on home water faucets and consider having children tested for lead in their blood following levels of the neurotoxin found in city water supplies.
According to a posting on the city website earlier this month, nine of 60 homes tested in Wayne had excessive levels of lead, the highest tested at 31 ppb, according to Lynn Sutfin, a spokesperson from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Water samples with more than 15 parts per billion (ppb) of lead require a community to take action, according to state and federal guidelines.
Exposure to lead can damage the brain and kidneys and can affect the production of red blood cells in the body. There is no safe level of lead in drinking water, officials said.
Officials said a minimum of 400 homes in the city still have lead water service lines.
Ed Queen, the assistant director of the Wayne Department of Public Works, said the city has replaced about 200 lead service lines to date, but the cost to replace the remaining 400 is expected to reach nearly $5 million.
Last month, the city was notified of about $4.9 million in state funding to begin replacement of the dangerous residential water supply lines,
Officials urged residents to continue to take precautions against any exposure to the dangerous neurotoxin.
Filters are available between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday at the City of Wayne Department of Public Works, 35200 Forest Ave. in Wayne. The department can be reached at (734) 721-8600.
