Smith Hill Community Development Corporation would like to notify all of you of an important meeting of the Mount Hope Neighborhood Association that is taking place on Thursday, May 27th to discuss the partial replacement of lead water lines in Providence.
As many of you know, the water lines in our neighborhood have been partially replaced over the last two years. However, there is evidence to suggest that that the lead level in our water may have actually increased as a consequence of the work.
The Mt. Hope Neighborhood Association is spearheading this effort because they were successful in their bid to prevent replacement work from resuming in their neighborhood until the process and results were better understood. Providence Water discontinued work in Mt. Hope, but the partial replacement continues in other Providence neighborhoods, including Smith Hill.
SHCDC is sharing the following information
with you so that you may become better informed of the issue in order to
protect the health of you and you family.
The following is the original message. If you can not attend the meeting, but want to keep informed of developments, please respond with an email here.
Original Message:
Community Meeting about Partial Lead Pipe
Replacements
Come learn about the problem, the solution,
and what you can do to make your family safe!
Thursday, May 27
5:30 PM
Mount Hope
Neighborhood Association (199 Camp Street, Providence, RI
02906)
Participating organizations: Mount Hope Neighborhood
Association, Childhood Lead Action Project, Clean Water Action, Mount Hope
Community Baptist Church
More info/RSVP to: Laura Brion, Childhood
Lead Action Project (785-1310, laura@leadsafekids.org)
Have you
heard about the lead pipe replacements happening in your area? Did you know that
this might actually be making the lead levels in our water worse -- not better?
Come learn about what local organizations are doing about this problem, and
about what you can do to help make sure you and your family are drinking safe
water.
Is your neighborhood affected?
Providence
(Neighborhoods: Elmwood, Hope, Silver Lake, and Smith Hill)
Cranston
(Neighborhoods: Arlington, Auburn, Edgewood, West Edgewood)
North
Providence
Johnston
Background:
Providence, Cranston,
North Providence, and Johnston have too much lead in their water.
The water
is fine when it leaves the treatment plant, but it can pick up lead when it
travels through service lines -- the pipes that connect the big water main in
the middle of the street to your house.
Because of this problem, the
Providence Water Supply Board started replacing service lines a few years ago.
The problem is that they're only replacing the part of the pipe, instead of
doing the whole thing. Property owners have the opportunity to pay to have a
full replacement done, but it's expensive, so very few people do this. Although
this is the way many other cities around the country also run pipe replacement
programs, new research shows that this can actually raise lead levels or not do
very much to solve the problem.
The Mount Hope Neighborhood Association,
the Childhood Lead Action Project, and Clean Water Action are working to get the
partial replacements stopped until plans are in place to do the whole job, not
just part of it. The Rhode Island Department of Health is also planning a study
for this summer to find out what's happening here. Come to our community
meeting on Thursday, May 27 at 5:30 at 199 Camp Street to find out more about
what's going on and how you can help!
|
