The Portland Water Bureau will soon have another important tool to help further reduce lead levels at the tap. Active construction of the Improved Corrosion Control Treatment project at the Lusted Hill facility is nearing the home stretch and the team is turning its efforts towards bringing the new facility online in April 2022.
“The Improved Corrosion Control Treatment project will allow us to adjust the chemistry of Portland’s drinking water to make our water less corrosive to some materials that are present in some building and home plumbing. This will help reduce lead levels at the tap,” says Kimberly Gupta, Water Supply and Treatment Manager for the Portland Water Bureau.
As the team gears up to bring the new treatment online, extensive planning is being done to make the process as seamless as possible for the people who drink our water every day. To achieve this, the contractor, designers, and in-house staff are creating very detailed startup and commissioning plans to carefully test each part of the system and bring the upgraded treatment online without skipping a beat. “When the system comes online, people will not notice a difference in their water. It will still be the same great drinking water they are used to,” says Gupta.
In Portland, the main source of lead in drinking water is lead solder and older brass components found in some home and building plumbing. Since 1997, the Water Bureau has treated the water to make it less corrosive to lead and copper. With the improvements underway, the corrosion control treatment will be more stable and longer-lasting as drinking water travels through the City’s network of pipes and storage to customers’ taps. According to Gupta, the alkalinity is key. “By boosting up the alkalinity it makes the pH more stable. So by the time it gets to people’s homes, it will be at a pH range we want it to be.” Water that's more alkaline is less corrosive to lead and copper.
Improved corrosion control treatment adds to the comprehensive set of tools in the Water Bureau’s Lead Hazard Reduction Program that are currently used to help reduce people’s exposure to lead and protect public health as required by the Lead and Copper Rule. Elevated levels of lead can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant people and young children.
“Public health protection is part of our responsibility to all of our customers. Reducing lead exposure at our customers’ taps can improve health outcomes for everyone in our community,” says Gupta. And she’s honored to “have a hand in providing clean water to a million people in Portland and the surrounding area.”
Learn more about how Portland is protecting public health and helping reduce lead exposure on February 9, 2022, at Commissioner Mingus Mapps's Portland Drinking Water Town Hall.