Thursday, March 28, 2024

Ohio EPA cites Sebring for more violations related to lead in village’s drinking water

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) issued another notice of violation to the village of Sebring this week, less than a month after a previous notice from Jan. 21 for violations related to lead levels in the village’s drinking water.

The latest violations include failure to submit a weekly water chemistry report to the Ohio EPA and failure to notify residents who voluntarily had their home’s water sampled of the results from that testing. In both cases, village officials were notified of the reporting requirements following the Jan. 21 violation notice.

“When [Ohio] EPA staff followed up this weekend to conduct cautionary testing on a few homes that tested above the federal allowable level, it became evident that the village had not notified these residents of their recent test results as quickly and thoroughly as they should have,” Ohio EPA Director Craig Butler said. “I expect the village to keep the public in mind and provide prompt information to its residents.”

Voluntary testing of water samples from nearly 700 homes has shown that just over 95 percent of them are within the federal allowable limits for lead, but the Ohio EPA and federal Environmental Protection Agency are still working with the village to perfect the chemistry of its water treatment system and prevent the corrosion that is causing lead leaching from the piping of some homes.