Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Is Penn State Wilkes-Barre water safe to drink?
Water at Penn State Wilkes-Barre tested below the action levels for lead during regular monitoring. In 2020, the campus took 20 samples in April and May and again in September and October to test lead levels.
The campus will take water samples every six months to closely monitor the lead levels in its water distribution system in 2020.
Lead is rarely found in source water but enters tap water through corrosion of plumbing materials. We are evaluating possible actions to reduce the potential of our water leaching lead and copper from plumbing materials that contain these metals. As part of this evaluation, in 2020 we began a corrosion control sampling program to collect data, which confirm that our wells (raw water sources) and water treatment processes are not the source of lead in our drinking water. The University has had corrosion treatment in place as part of our water treatment processes.
2. How many sites did you test?
We tested 20 sites in six on-campus buildings to which Penn State Wilkes-Barre provides water. All 20 samples received were below the action level for lead. Penn State Wilkes-Barre follows all United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) regulations for operating public water systems.
3. Which buildings were tested?
The six on-campus buildings tested were the Bell Atlantic/Bell of PA building, the Student Commons building, the Science building, the Nesbitt Academic Commons building, the Hayfield building and the Career Services Building.
4. Why were you testing the water?
Since 1992, Penn State has been sampling the water it produces every three years for lead as required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead and Copper Rule. As part of this rule, we test, at minimum, 10 sites on campus under reduced monitoring, which is based on the size of our water system. Penn State Wilkes-Barre follows all U.S. EPA and PA DEP regulations for operating public water systems.
5. What is Penn State Wilkes Barre’s water treatment process?
The drinking water system at Penn State Wilkes-Barre uses the chemical addition of sodium hypochlorite for disinfection and the chemical addition of zinc orthophosphate for corrosion control (Corrosion Control Treatment (CCT)), permitted by the PA DEP. The CCT process used at Wilkes-Barre works by developing a film on the inside of water distribution and building plumbing. This film develops over a period of time and reduces corrosion of the inside of the pipes. When building plumbing and fixtures are not routinely used, this film can be diminished, and the disinfection chemical in the form of free chlorine can corrode the plumbing materials. This corrosion can result in lead and copper being leached from the copper pipes into the water. Flushing water from fixtures that are not normally used will reduce corrosion and the potential for leaching. For fixtures normally used, running the water for several minutes or until it reaches a cold/uniform temperature will aid in flushing lead and copper that may be present, especially if the water has not been used for several hours.
6. Are you required to test the water?
The Lead and Copper Rule requires we test the water every three years. Penn State Wilkes-Barre follows all U.S. EPA and PA DEP regulations for operating public water systems.
7. How often do you test it? Why does Penn State Wilkes-Barre only test every three years?
The PA DEP determined Penn State Wilkes-Barre should be on a reduced monitoring program, sampling every three years. However, with the exceedance of the 90th percentile standard for lead in 2019, we are now required to sample at 20 sites every six months.
8. How does Penn State test its water?
The U.S. EPA requires that water must be allowed to stand motionless in building plumbing pipes for at least six hours before a sample is taken. A one-liter “first draw” tap water sample is collected from the cold water tap. An independent PA DEP certified laboratory performs analyses of the samples. Penn State Wilkes-Barre follows all U.S. EPA and PA DEP regulations for operating public water systems.
9. When will you be resampling the water?
As part of its regulatory monitoring, Penn State Wilkes-Barre will resample the water again in the fall of 2020. Twenty samples will be collected in accordance with our PA DEP approved sampling plan. We will also collect additional samples as part of our corrosion control evaluation.
10. Where does Penn State Wilkes-Barre get its water?
Penn State Wilkes-Barre owns and operates its own water system. Water is pumped from two wells on campus where it is treated and then distributed on campus and slightly beyond for domestic use and fire protection.
11. Why does Penn State Wilkes-Barre serve buildings (the apartment complex) that aren’t owned by the University?
There is not a public water system in the area. In an effort to be a good neighbor, Penn State provides water to an independently operated off-campus apartment complex.
12. Who oversees/regulates this? (i.e., PA DEP/ U.S. EPA)
Penn State Wilkes-Barre follows all U.S. EPA and PA DEP regulations for operating public water systems.
13. Are there lead pipes on campus?
There are no known lead pipes on the Penn State Wilkes-Barre campus.