Possibility of lead contamination mapped in Stark County water systems.
Hide caption (Thinkstock.com photo) The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency on Friday released water system maps from communities across the state including several in Stark County showing the parts of the system where lead could leach into the water.
By From staff and wire reports The state has posted maps showing water systems with lead or potential lead service lines from 99 percent of Ohio’s 1,878 water systems.
Many of the Stark water systems such as Canton, North Canton, Aqua Ohio—Massillon, Beach City and Brewster said they have no water service lines with lead or they’re unaware of any of part of their service lines having lead.
But the systems had not confirmed which parts of its system or homes had lead components.
North Canton identified some areas with water mains before 1940 where there is a potential of contamination from lead components.
Doug Hastings, the superintendent of the Alliance Water Distribution system, summed it up in a March 3 one-sentence letter to the Ohio EPA.
Those areas are throughout the city.
"There is a moderate probability that some of the older infrastructure (about 247 water lines with 535 believed to have no lead) may or may not contain a lead service connection on the public water side of the distribution system," Brewster’s map said.
Operators of water systems were required to submit maps by Thursday to comply with EPA regulations informing the public about potential lead content in drinking water, much of it coming from older lead pipes.