WORKING TOWARD

A LEAD-FREE UTILITY

It was just about a year ago that people in the Greater Lansing area began hearing a lot about lead in drinking water. We’d like to remind our customers about steps they can take to protect themselves, and review some of the actions we’ve taken over the last 12 months.

 

There’s no detectable lead in BWL drinking water when it leaves our conditioning plant. But water is naturally corrosive and can pick up microscopic amounts of lead if it sits idle for a long time in pipes, plumbing or fixtures that contain lead. Lead levels in drinking water are likely to be highest:

· In homes with lead service lines connecting the water main to the house

· In homes with lead indoor plumbing, or in homes that have copper plumbing joined by lead solder

· In homes that have brass faucets or other fixtures

 

Here are things you can do to reduce lead levels in drinking water.

 

All customers:

· Anytime the water in a faucet hasn’t been used for 6 hours or longer, flush your cold water pipes by running the water until it becomes as cold as it will get. This could take as little as 5 to 30 seconds or as long as 2 minutes.

· Use only water from the cold tap for drinking, cooking, and especially for making baby formula.

· Regularly clean particles from faucet aerators.

 

Customers with lead service lines:

· If the water in your home has not been used for 6 hours or more, draw water for cooking or drinking after allowing the water to run for 7 minutes or for at least 2 minutes after another high-water-use activity such as bathing or washing clothes.

· As an alternative, use filtered water for drinking or cooking. The BWL now offers free water filters and replacement cartridges to customers with lead service lines.

 

 

WE'D LIKE YOUR NUMBER!

You can help protect yourself against prolonged power outages by making sure we have your current phone number.

That allows you to use PowerLine, a quick, no-hassle way to report a power outage. PowerLine is a toll-free phone number (1-877-BWL-5001) that can handle up to 40,000 calls an hour. PowerLine records your outage information quickly and automatically, but in order for it to work properly, it must recognize your telephone number. Check your BWL utility bill. If your correct phone number isn’t printed on it, please write it down in the space provided on your payment stub, and return it with your utility payment.

Our commitment
to you

  

The BWL has always been in compliance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) lead regulation, but our commitment goes beyond doing what’s required. Here are additional steps we’ve taken over the last year, all of which go beyond state and federal requirements:

· Began a project to remove all lead service lines by 2014. Since July, 2004, more than 1,000 full and partial lead service lines have been replaced.

· Conducted extensive studies to identify the appropriate flushing time for customers with lead service lines. As a result of that study, new flushing guidelines have been issued that provide more protection than does the advice given by EPA.

· Provided free water filters and replacement cartridges to customers with lead service lines.

· Conducted more rigorous and frequent sampling for lead concentrations than EPA regulations require.

If you’d like to learn more about lead in drinking water, click here to visit the EPA’s Web or call its Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.

Adopt A River

cleanup

September 17

We’re not wishing the summer away, but it is about time to start thinking about the fall Adopt A River cleanup, coming in September.

Scheduled for Saturday, September 17, Adopt A River invites all who care about the environment to share a few hours cleaning up the river resources that run through Lansing. Registration begins at 8 a.m. under the Shiawassee Street Bridge behind the Lansing City Market.

Volunteers will spend two to three hours cleaning up their assigned sites before returning to headquarters for a picnic lunch and other good stuff.

This fall’s schedule calls for a silent auction and lots of family fun activity.

For more information, or to pre-register for the cleanup, call the Ingham Conservation District at 676-2290.

SOLAR WATER HEATERS ARE HOT!

A few months ago, we told you about a solar domestic hot water rebate program that gives Michigan residents an opportunity to save on their utility bills and help the environment.

 

Since then, the program has really taken off. From April through June, over 350 people have requested applications for rebates. As of July 1, nearly 55 percent of the total available rebates had been approved. And, more applications are coming in every day.

 

Program Manager John Watson of Urban Options says there hasn’t been anything like the solar hot water rebate program for the last 30 years, and adds that over $228,000 in rebate funds have been requested.

 

The approved systems also represent a large reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. At its current rate, the program will prevent 168 tons of carbon dioxide, 626 pounds of sulfur dioxide and 268 pounds of nitrogen oxides from being emitted into the atmosphere each year.

 

The Michigan Solar Domestic Hot Water Rebate Program is a great example of saving money through reduced energy costs while creating a more sustainable future. The program runs through October 1, while funds last. To participate in the program or for more information, call 1-866-846-7349 or click here.