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ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — The head of a county water authority says as many as 15,000 water lines serving homes in one eastern Pennsylvania city might be made of lead.
WFMZ-TV (http://bit.ly/1Na9V1K ) says Wednesday night's comment by Liesel Gross of the Lehigh County Authority comes weeks after tests showed more children in Allentown have dangerously high levels of lead in their blood than children in any other Pennsylvania city.
However, health officials have attributed the problem to lead paint in the city's old housing stock. Federally mandated testing has not shown excessive levels of lead in the water.
The authority took control of Allentown's water system three years ago. Officials say there are at least 5,000 service lines made of lead and as many as 15,000.
It would cost about $1,500 to replace each lead line, or up to $23 million.
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Information from: WFMZ-TV, http://www.wfmz.com
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