A welding supply company in Beecher operates one of the 31 water systems across Illinois that has exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency’s acceptable lead limit since 2013, according to federal EPA data compiled by The Associated Press.
Bernard, a member company of ITW Welding with a factory in Beecher, operates the lone water system in the Southland that has exceeded the EPA’s 15 parts-per-billion lead action limit over the past three years.
One of five water samples taken in September from the welding supply company’s private system, which supplies water for approximately 75 people, showed excessive levels of lead, Illinois Department of Public Health spokeswoman Divya Mohan Little said.
As a result, the Department of Public Health required further testing. The company submitted its final round of water samples last month, and upon initial review, the lead levels appeared normal.
“Naturally, we still need to review further and ensure that the sampling was done properly,” Mohan Little wrote in an email. “We will continue working with them on an ongoing basis.”
Representatives from Bernard did not respond to a request for comment.
Department of Public Health spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said that because the high lead sample drawn at Bernard was taken from a mechanical room sink not used for drinking, the facility’s employees should not have had any direct lead exposure. Sampling at the facility will continue on a six-month basis as long as elevated samples persist, she said.
Water samples provided by Bernard, located on West Corning Road off of Dixie Highway, have exceeded federal lead standards nine times since 1992, EPA records show. No other Southland water system has had more than two lead violations over that span.
While there is no safe amount of lead, the EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule of 1991 codified the federal lead action limit at 15 ppb. If lead concentrations exceed that level in more than 10 percent of a water system’s sampled taps, and those results are confirmed by additional testing, the system’s operator is required to act.
In such cases, the Department of Health may work with a system to determine whether it needs to replace lead service lines or treat pipes to prevent corrosion.
Water systems with excessive lead levels have 60 days to inform consumers of the elevated readings, educate them on the health risks associated with drinking lead-tainted water and offer steps they can take to reduce their exposure.
