By Shay Bowman
In February, Buena Vista officials learned of an anonymous complaint from someone alleging they had gotten sick because of lead in the city’s water system.
The complaint came after a letter was sent to residents in the fall, cautioning people who live in older homes that there could be lead-based materials in their pipes. Interim City Manager Wayne Handley said the letter created confusion, leading to a false rumor that there was lead was in the drinking water.
Now, city officials are testing the water quality early to determine if lead levels are still compliant with state and federal regulations. Handley says the letter could have been clearer and that it may have prompted the anonymous complaint last month.
“It was meant as an educational and informative notice to everyone,” Handley said. “But what we were starting to hear was people saying, ‘The city of Buena Vista says there’s lead in the water.’”
The letters say, “you are served by a lead status unknown service line,” and “your service line material is unknown, but may be lead.” The rest of the letter explains the health effects of lead and outlines steps to reduce exposure to lead in drinking water.
The public may have been confused by the letter, which was written in “legalese” and worded in a way that was not easy to understand, said George Bains, the city’s acting director of public works. The department has received numerous phone calls from concerned citizens.
“We’ve answered a lot of those calls in our office, and we assure people that it is to make them aware that they might have a problem,” Bains said. “It’s not on the public drinking water side. It’s really on the homeowner side.”
On Feb. 27, the city manager’s office released a notice, stating the city received an inquiry from a news organization about a water quality concern that had been reported to it. Handley said the original source of the complaint is unknown and that no formal complaint has been made to the city or to the Virginia Department of Health.
In response, public works is testing the water quality early to verify that lead levels are low enough. Normally, Bains said, lead testing takes place in the summer and is done every three years because Buena Vista’s lead levels are historically very low.
“We put out the news release which basically says, ‘Hey, we’ve heard there’s a concern and we’re going to follow up and make sure that we’ve tested our water,’” Bains said. “Even though it’s tested once every three years, we’ll go ahead and test it now.”
Bains said the test requires sampling the water and sending the sample to a state lab. He said the city has not yet gotten the results.
The Virginia Department of Health says “all water systems with lead or lead status unknown service lines must inform all persons served by the water system” that could be impacted. The city must provide the notification within 30 days of “completion of the lead service line inventory” and repeat the notification every year until it’s confirmed that the lines are safe.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, lead pipes are more likely to be found in homes built before 1986. The EPA says there is no safe level of lead in drinking water, but they do not require action unless the water system has lead exceeding 0.015 mg/L (15 ppb).
Jen Carpenter, the executive director of Main Street Buena Vista, said she is comfortable asking questions and seeking clarification but that for those who are not, misinformation can quickly spread.
“Having concerns is so legitimate,” Carpenter said. “I don’t know if this is just a longtime habit or culture, but I think Facebook really exacerbates it. I feel very comfortable walking in or sending an email to anyone in the city.”
Handley said there are no concerns about the safety of the water quality or lead levels at this time. In the 2024 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report, there were no reports of unsafe lead levels.
Homeowners should identify what types of pipes they have and call the public works office if they have any questions, Bains said. Residents who need more information should contact a plumber or home inspector to look at their home’s pipes.
“Most people will know if they have ever looked under their sinks or if they’ve ever had to fix a pipe,” he said. “It’s about knowing what’s in your home.”
Buena Vista is committed to clean drinking water and the health and safety of its residents, Handley said.
“We do take the quality of the water very seriously and we do take everybody’s public health very seriously,” he said.