Get the Lead Out

U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-VA) said that he was concerned that Washington D.C. residents had been exposed to greater health risks because of the lead contamination in the District's tap water, according to the Washington Post.

The Post article said Davis was upset with the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority's lackluster approach to notifying the public about lead contamination problems in the city's tap water.

Davis said he was "deeply troubled" by media reports that WASA did not begin notifying most homeowners until November about excessive lead levels found last summer.

The water in more than 4,000 homes had lead concentrations in excess of the federal limit of 15 parts per billion, the paper reported.

WASA "has delayed remediation of the problem and exposed the District of Columbia's residents to the risks of lead in their drinking water without their knowledge," Davis wrote in letters sent yesterday to WASA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.