Syracuse, N.Y. – Syracuse must improve the manner in which notifies the public about lead levels in water and tighten up its testing procedures, under an order issued last week by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
In more than 50 pages of an order and inspection report obtained by syracuse.com, the federal agency does not view Syracuse’s situation as an emergency. It will spare the city a $50,000 penalty if it complies with the order.
The EPA issued findings from an inspection it conducted in the spring in collaboration with the state Department of Health. The comprehensive system review was the EPA’s first on-site review in Syracuse in at least a decade. It was triggered by the results of lead testing in the first half of 2024, which found alarming lead levels at more than five times the federal standard. Subsequent testing returned results below the federal standard.
Although the city mailed notices to all residents about its 2024 lead-level exceedance and posted information on its website, it failed to conduct additional outreach required by the federal lead rule, according to the inspection report.
That included delivering materials on findings, risks and mitigation steps to public and private schools; Women, Infants and Children and Head Start programs; hospitals and medical clinics; pediatricians; family planning clinics; child care centers and obstetricians-gynecologists and midwives. Information also should have been included on water bills.
The city is being directed to conduct this outreach regarding the 2024 results and explain why the information is going out now. In addition, the city must formulate a future communication plan in coordination with the EPA.
The city also must increase the frequency with which it tests water in the system for the appropriate level of orthophosphate, which is added to the water during treatment to prevent pipe corrosion and reduce the potential for lead to leach into the water.
City officials are in the process of reviewing the EPA’s report and order, said Greg Loh, Syracuse’s chief policy officer.
“The City will work with the EPA, New York State Department of Health and the Onondaga County Health Department to respond fully to the findings and the Order,” he said in an email to syracuse.com.
Two months after the city first disclosed its elevated lead results in 2024, national clean water activists were labeling Syracuse’s situation as worse than the infamous Flint, Michigan, situation a decade earlier. They joined with local advocates in calling for the city to declare a state of emergency regarding lead in the water in an effort to get more and faster federal funding to replace lead service pipes and distribute filters to all city residents.
But by that point, the city had conducted new testing that was showing lead levels under the action limit. And in late October 2024, officials revealed that there were errors in the spring testing process because employees gathering samples incorrectly filled bottles with water from outdoor spigots and hoses.
In a letter to Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh included with the order and inspection findings, the EPA notes the increased public attention on lead in the Syracuse’s water system.
“EPA acknowledges the steps the City has taken to communicate with its consumers, provide public education and gather information on lead service lines,” the letter said. “As the City works to comply with this Order and the SDWA, we encourage the City to continue to coordinate with community groups to leverage resources and ensure a successful public education campaign.”
The administrative order is the second EPA action against the city’s water department in the past year. Last summer, Syracuse paid a $1,600 penalty for failing to update a five-year risk management plan for its chemical storage program.
The city this year hired an outside firm to conduct its lead testing for $96,000, saying the move should help restore public trust in the testing program. For the first half of this year, samples showed the lowest lead levels since 2018.
But lead safety advocates remained skeptical. They filed a petition this summer asking the EPA to force Syracuse to declare a state of emergency.
Although the city’s water is now testing below lead action levels, it also states there is no safe level of lead exposure, especially in young children. A federal mandate requires all public water systems to have all lead service lines running into properties replaced within a decade.
Syracuse is striving to replace an estimated 14,000 to 17,000 lead service lines within five years, at an estimated cost $300 million. The city is using more than $20 million from the state in the first phase of that effort targeting about 3,000 replacements.
Until that work is done, advocates also want the EPA to require the city to give filters to every household with a lead service line (Syracuse has offered filters to households with children under 6, pregnant women and other at-risk individuals). The EPA order issued last week does not mandate additional filter distribution.
For people who have lead pipes or fixtures, health officials recommend taking the following steps to mitigate risks:
Using only cold water for drinking and cooking because lead dissolves more easily into hot water running through pipes
Running water for a short period of time before using because the longer water sits in pipes, the more lead it’s likely to have
Removing and cleaning faucet screens regularly
Consider using a filter designed to remove lead. In Syracuse, households with children under age 6, pregnant women and other at-risk individuals can request a free filter by contacting the water department at (315) 448-8354.