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Some Tulsa residents alarmed by letter about possible lead in water lines

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TULSA, Okla. — Tiffany Townsend calls the letter she received from the City of Tulsa on Nov. 13 "alarming and concerning."

The letter indicates in bold that her home's water service line is of "UNKNOWN" material.

The letter goes on to say:

Although unlikely, it is possible it may be lead; so it is important to understand that lead can cause serious health problem, especially for pregnant woman and young children.
City of Tulsa, Water and Sewer

See the first page of the letter here.

See the second page of the letter here.

Townsend found the letter so alarming, she immediately called City Hall. The customer service person told her they don't have any information about the letter and advised her to call the number she found on the back for getting water tested for lead.

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She told the 2 News she called it two or three times and each time it went straight to voicemail. When no one returned her calls she reached out to the Problem Solvers to see if we could get answers.

"I understand the language in the letter can be kind of alarming," said Melissa Gray with Tulsa's Water Department. "But it is a standard notification that was provided to us. The letters customers receive in the mail this week are a requirement from the Environmental Protection Agency and the department of Environmental Quality. The customers that received the letter have the service line of unknown material - unknown being we just don't know what type of material it is. We don't have a record that lead was never installed at those individual addresses so we are required to sent the notification."

Gray told 2 News Tulsa hasn't found lead in service lines, but the EPA requires letters be sent because it has been found in pipes in other cities.

She stressed getting a letter does not automatically mean you have lead in your pipes. And, the information for lowering the risk to your health is part of the form letter the EPA requires.

As Tulsa rolls out its automatic water meter readers its crews will check service lines to homes where the city does not already have confirmation there is no lead in the pipes. The project is anticipated to take up to five years. If you don't want to wait that line to know what's in your water, you can call 918-591-4384 to request a free water testing kit.

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The city will drop it off at your front door. All you have to do is fill the bottle with water from your kitchen faucet first thing in the morning before using any other water in your home. You then leave the bottle by your door for the city to collect and test. The whole process should only take a few days.

Contact the Problem Solvers:

  • 918-748-1502
  • problemsolvers@kjrh.com

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