Richmond City finds elevated levels of copper in pipes of some homes

The City of Richmond is conducting additional tests after finding elevated levels of copper in the pipes of some homes.

Elevated levels of copper ingested over extended periods of time can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children. The most common source of contamination is household plumbing, faucets, and water fixtures.

The testing, which is mandated by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), requires cities test for copper and lead twice a year.

According to Richmond City Administrator, Jeremy Kimpton, the city sampled 20 older homes that were known to have copper pipes.

“The target homes are going to be homes that are built in the 70’s and 80’s,” he said. “This is not something that’s going to be in new homes that have poly pipe or homes that have been plumbed.”

Kimpton said results from recent tests indicated four of the 20 homes had excessive levels of copper. Residents in those homes were immediately notified.

DEQ allows Richmond to have two overages. However, the additional two homes meant the city had no choice but to conduct further tests.

“So the question is, does the city water have a corrosive property that causes that to leach, or is it going to be individual homes that we have to work with?” said Kimpton.

“We will do sampling in water sources and our distribution systems, as wells as individual homes,” he said.  Then, “establish where the corrosive element of the water is coming from. Once we have that, then we know whether we treat our water system or we deal with individual homes at that point.”

Richmond isn’t the only Utah city found to have contamination issues.

Sandy City was recently cited by DEQ after tap water was found contaminated with lead, copper and fluoride. According to city officials, an overfeed of fluoride into the city’s water system after a winter storm and related power outage likely led to the high levels of metal.

Kimpton said Richmond is committed to finding the source of contamination in the four older homes that did test positive.

He said the city is still in the early stages of finding those answers, but should have a better understanding in a couple of months.

If you have concerns, the city recommends you flush the lines before consuming any water. The longer water has been sitting in the pipes the more dissolved metals it may contain. Use cold water for drinking and cooking. Limit consumption of water from the hot water tap, because hot water dissolves more copper than cold water.

You can call Richmond City for additional testing information or visit the city’s Facebook page.

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