CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — Ever since December 2022, the Clarksburg Water Board (CWB) has been treating the water by adding Orthophosphate to reduce the current lead levels in the water supply.
Since then, the CWB has noticed a drastic decrease in lead levels with lab results from testing six different Environmental Protection Agency sites.
Board officials say they are very pleased with the current results.
“Originally when we started the implementation we wouldn’t start seeing the results for about 5-6 months, but we seen results within a month,” said Jason Myers, CWB General Manager, “we’re very pleased with what we are seeing right now, we seen like I said these six different sites, we’ve got it to go from like 65 parts per Billion down to 15 in just a matter of two months.”
Fairmont, Morgantown and Elkins use Orthophosphate in their water supply to coat the inside of water pipes and protect the water supply from lead.
“So not only are we protecting from lead, we are also protecting from lines on customers sides of the meter, so this chemical also puts that coat of protection in there,” Myers said.
The CWB assures the public that Orthophosphate is a food-grade additive and the water is safe to drink.
“The ending result of this there should be a no detect and we are already seeing those on some of the areas that had high lead content, we are starting to see those become a non detect, I think give us a few more months and I think we are going to be there,” Myers said.
If you have any questions or concerns about phosphate and your health you can contact the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources at 1-800-624-8589
